Opposition

22

{ Katy }

The ride to Petersburg was a lot more uneventful than the trip to Atlanta, with the exception of the bickering between Daemon and Archer and the state of some of the highways we traveled on.

I knew better than to look inside the cars this time, but Dee apparently didn’t. Every so often, I’d catch sight of her in the front seat, staring out the window at the destruction, and she’d make a soft sound, like a swallowed cry. Had she had a hand in this? Maybe not physically, but had anything she’d done had a domino effect that ended with many, many lives lost?

I felt for her, and I was happy when I saw Archer’s hand gravitate toward her whenever she appeared to get lost staring out that window. But the closer we got to West Virginia, the closer to home, I could no longer think about Dee.

My heart started pounding in my chest like it wanted to jump out and do a little dance the minute we entered Petersburg from the highway. Everything looked normal, like this little patch of the world, a few-stoplight town, had somehow been left out of the events the rest of the world faced. Except as we cruised through the main drag of downtown, no one was out on the streets. Not a single soul walked on the sidewalks. There were a few cars, but it felt like everyone was holed up inside their homes. And that wasn’t the only thing.

“God,” breathed Archer, his knuckles bleaching around the steering wheel as he quickly turned onto the nearest road that got us to where we needed to go. “They’re everywhere.”

I didn’t need an explanation. He was talking about the Luxen.

Daemon leaned between the two front seats and placed a hand on his sister’s shoulder. He didn’t speak out loud, but when I saw Dee turn toward him, her lips were pressed together tightly and her face was pale.

My stomach got in the game with my heart, tumbling as it raced.

Dee nodded and then said out loud, “I can hear him, but I’m fine. I’m with you guys.” She glanced at Archer in a way that almost made me swoon and forget what was going on. “I’m going to be okay.”

I just hoped that was the case. We were obviously deep in enemy territory, and it would be no amount of time before they knew we were here. They might already know we were here.

And backup in the form of the Arum and the military was still many hours away. This could all go very badly, and very quickly, because we were intentionally walking into a trap. Dee and Daemon were really going to have to be convincing when it came to playing along with the enemy to get close to Ethan.

So convincing I really hoped they didn’t switch sides.

Might be a needless fear, because I seriously believed what Daemon felt for me was strong enough to beat that, but the concern was still there. It was like a shadow in my blood, a constant thought in the back of my head, a tiny stone in my stomach that didn’t go away.

This could really blow up in our faces.

As we neared the turnoff I hadn’t seen in so long, I leaned forward and grasped the back of Dee’s seat. My breath caught in my throat as the Explorer eased up the driveway. The grass looked overgrown, crowding the road with tall reeds; it was clear no one was concerned with landscaping, but I figured that was okay, with the world facing an alien apocalypse and all. Any other option was unacceptable for me to consider. Mom had to be fine, had to be waiting for me.

She was home, because her Prius was parked in the driveway, in front of the porch where the wooden swing still swayed back and forth in the breeze.

Archer turned the key in the ignition, cutting the engine as I stared at the flower box surrounding the porch. It was more weeds than flowers, but that was okay, too, because Mom had a daughter missing and an alien apocalypse to deal with. Plus, she wasn’t really good with flowers and all that jazz.

My fingers were shaking as I unlatched my seat belt.

Mom had to be inside the house. Had she seen us pull up yet? Would the door open at any given moment and she’d be walking out? A prettier, classier, smarter, and nicer version of me—a version I hoped to be when I got older.

I could barely drag in enough air to get my lungs working. From our plans, I knew Daemon would be leading the show here, and the last thing any of us needed was for me to go running to my mom. But I wanted to see her. I needed to, because I missed her desperately and I had to make sure she was okay.

I was all she had left, and she needed to know that I was still here.

Daemon caught my arm, keeping me in the backseat while Dee and Archer hopped out and stared at her house with wary expressions.

“There are Luxen nearby,” he said, smoothing his thumb along the edge of my sleeve, across my wrist. “I don’t know if they’re in any of the houses.”

“Why would they be in our houses?” The moment the question left my mouth, I knew how stupid it sounded, because there could be any number of reasons why they’d be in my house or Daemon’s.

He smiled tightly, but the worry in his eyes caused the little knots in my stomach to expand. “I know you want to check on your mom. I get that, but I need you to not run off. We’re going to head over there, but if anything is off and I tell you to get out of there—”

“Why would things be off?”

Daemon cocked his head to the side. “Kat . . .”

“I know,” I whispered. Stupid just kept spewing out of my mouth.

“Don’t forget the gun.” It was tucked in the back of my jeans, like a gangsta. His eyes searched mine and then he nodded. “I’m going to climb out after you, and Kat . . .” His stare turned intense, deep, and thorough. “If I have to talk to you a certain way or act like I did back in Idaho, I’m sorry.”

“I get why. I can deal.”

Daemon held my gaze a moment longer and then nodded. Drawing in a shallow breath, I turned and opened the car door. He slid out behind me and immediately curved a hand around the base of my neck. I imagined that the gesture looked like one of control and dominance, but there was something soothing in the weight of his hand. I knew he was there.

His sister had a hold of Archer’s arm as she led him toward the steps on the front porch leading to their house. Dee paused only to cast a look back at Daemon, and I had no idea if they were communicating or not, since there was a chance another Luxen could pick it up.

Daemon steered me around the front of the SUV, and as we walked closer to my house, I noted the weeds once again. Vines had formed, and they were so thick and numerous that they had started to climb up the sides of the porch, wrapping around the railings.

My gaze flickered toward the door.

It was open, with just the glass storm door closed. My heart was really going at it in my chest and I had to force myself to walk slowly, like Daemon was leading me instead of me leading him.

The steps groaned under our feet and the familiar creak from a loose board on the porch caused me to jerk a little.

“There are definitely Luxen nearby,” he said under his breath.

Meaning they could be anywhere, in the surrounding woods or inside the house. With their presence so strong and thick, they could be sitting in the living room for all we knew. Shivers ran up and down my body as he reached around me with his free hand and opened the door. Our footsteps quiet, we stepped inside and were welcomed by the slightly warmer air of the interior and the scent I’d missed—fresh linen.

Tears pricked at my eyes as my gaze swung around the foyer. Things looked the same. Oh God, there were Amazon boxes by the door, along with media mail envelopes, and I knew they were full of books that had probably kept coming until publicists realized I hadn’t updated my blog in many, many months.

My book bag was next to the lovely pile of unopened mail, along with my sandals. Mom had left them there, like she knew I was coming back. That she wanted them there for me. My lower lip started to tremble, and I blinked furiously to keep the tears at bay.

We walked farther into the house, making no sound as we passed the doorway to the empty living room. I looked up the stairwell and then down the hall, toward the laundry room. The memory of dancing in my socks and falling on my butt when Daemon had let himself in, surprising me, rushed over me. The breath I took was too shaky. So many memories. They hurt in a good and bad way, wholly bittersweet. Daemon gently squeezed the back of my neck, and then we entered the dining room. From where we stood, I could see the kitchen.

My heart stopped in my chest and then sped up.

Daemon’s hand tightened.

I saw her—I saw Mom.

She was standing at the sink, her back to us, and oh my God, it was her—shiny blond hair pulled up in a neat bun at the back of her head. She wasn’t wearing scrubs, but dark jeans and a light sweater. Tears spilled out of my eyes. I couldn’t stop them.

“Mom?” My voice cracked.

Her spine stiffened for a second and I started forward, done with the pretenses. Daemon grabbed at me, but I was fast when I needed to be, and I broke free.

Mom turned.

She was here. She was okay. She was alive.

“Kat!” Daemon shouted.

In a blur of tears I couldn’t even see through, I was an emotional melting pot as I raced across the kitchen, around the table, reaching her in seconds, and I got all grabby, wrapping my arms around her. “Mom!”

I held her tight, inhaling the scent of her perfume and letting it wash over me, easing some of the knots in my—

Suddenly, arms were around my waist and I was hauled back against a hard chest and stomach. My brain raced. I didn’t understand what was happening. Then my feet were skidding across the floor as I was shoved behind Daemon. He kept his arm out, backing me up.

“Daemon, stop.” I struggled to get around him, knowing I was supposed to play it cool, but this was different. No one was in here but us. We were okay and I wanted my mom.

“Katy.” Daemon spoke my name, and the hoarseness of it, the way it seemed to punch out of him, caused me to go very still.

I lifted my head, breathing heavily as I peered around Daemon and . . . and I got a look at Mom, a real good look.

My whole world imploded—shattered into broken little pieces that were jagged and cut deep, slicing my insides into shreds and ripping me apart.

Her eyes—they were a bright, unnatural blue.

So blue that they looked like two polished sapphires, and Mom’s eyes . . . they should’ve been hazel, more green than brown, depending on her mood.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No. No.”

Mom tilted her head to the side as she looked from me to Daemon, and then she moved her lips into a smile that lacked any warmth. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

No. No. No.

I wrenched free of Daemon, backing up as I stared at Mom—no, not Mom. This wasn’t Mom. It wasn’t her. The cold blue eyes followed my movements and her lips continued to curl up as she watched me with such apathy I could taste it.

“No.” My voice was a broken record. It was all I could say as my chest split right open when the horror of the reality set in.

Mom wasn’t here.

She would never be here. Never again.

Because she had been assimilated. Mom was gone. Forever.

{ Daemon }

I should’ve known.

In the back of my head, that was all I could think. I should’ve known that this was possible. That the invading Luxen would get to Kat’s mom and do something so horrific in hopes that Kat or I or someone would come back here. Or maybe they hadn’t really been waiting for us but had done this just to be cruel, because Ethan would’ve known Kat’s mom, would’ve foreseen what it would’ve done.

The moment Kat’s heart broke open, I felt it in my chest like it had been my own, and I’d experienced that kind of raw pain before when I was told that Dawson had died. I’d never wanted her to go through what she was feeling, but there was no stopping it.

Her eyes were wide as she stumbled back, bouncing into the wall like she didn’t even know it was there, and she kept saying the same word over and over again.

No.

Tears streamed down her face as she raised her hands, like she wanted to fend off reality, hold it back. Then she doubled over, folding her arms around her midsection.

My gaze swung on the Luxen standing at the sink, smiling coldly as she watched Kat lose it. The bastards did this to her.

Rage lit me up from the inside, infusing every cell in my body. I didn’t use the gun—the shot, the sound of it was too wrong to use in this situation, because even though this wasn’t her mom, she looked like her. The female in front of me recognized what was about to happen a second too late. She started to shift as I let the fury go and a blast of the Source smacked into her chest, spinning her against the counter. She gripped the sink, staggered, but I let go another bolt and it hit the back of her head.

The Luxen’s light flared a bright white once, and then twice, before dulling like a lightbulb going out. She fell over a bag of potatoes, smacking on the floor with a heavy thud. In her true form, the last of the light faded out of the network of veins, leaving behind a shell of a humanoid form.

Kat dropped to her knees, crying out as she dipped her chin against her chest.

I whipped toward her. “Katy . . . baby, I’m . . .” There really were no words except: “I’m so . . . so sorry.”

She moved suddenly, planting her hands against the kitchen floor. Throwing back her head, she screamed, and that sound was full of sorrow and heartbreak.

It started as a low tremble under my feet and then increased, shaking the kitchen table and rattling the plates and cups in the cabinets. Then it was a rumble, causing the house to groan and small clouds of dust to drop from the ceiling. The table scuttled over the floor. A chair toppled over and then another. Somewhere in the living room, a window shattered.

Kat was going to bring the house down.

“Shit.”

I dropped to her side, folding my arms around her and gathering her close. Her entire body shook as I sat back, landing on my ass. I pulled her into my lap, thrusting a hand into her hair, pressing her face against my chest. It did nothing to muffle the powerful sobs racking her entire body.

God, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to ease this, which was the only thing I cared about at the moment.

“Baby, it’s going to be okay,” I said into the top of her head. “I’m here, Kitten. I got you. I’m here.”

There was no sign that she heard me as she burrowed into me, her chest rising and falling sharply, her pulse pounding way too fast. She curled into herself, her cries ragged and broken-sounding, tearing me up.

I should’ve known.

But there had been no way to decipher the presence of a Luxen in here or outside. Others would be coming, but all I could do was hold her, getting her as close as possible as I glanced at the ceiling. A crack had opened, cutting across the middle of the ceiling, but the house had settled, aside from a slight shiver of the foundation every few seconds.

I smoothed my hand up and down her back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head despite the feeling of another Luxen drawing close. When the front door slammed, I heard Dee calling out my name.

“In here.”

Kat was still shaking in my arms, and while her sobs had quieted down, the burst of raw emotion was nowhere near over.

“What’s going on . . . ?” Dee skidded to a halt outside of the kitchen, in the hall. Her gaze darted from the dead Luxen to where we sat on the floor. “Kat?”

Archer was behind her, curling a hand over her shoulder. He picked up on what had gone down here as I returned my attention to Kat. Curving my one hand along the back of her head, I lowered mine to rest on top of hers and just held on.

I knew the moment Archer told Dee what happened, because she cried out and then she was behind Kat, placing her hands on her, trying to wiggle her way in, but I couldn’t let Kat go.

“We felt the house shaking,” Dee said as her eyes met mine over Kat’s head. “I know I shouldn’t have come over here. That wasn’t the plan, but I was worried.”

The plan was out the window. There was no way I could continue to go through with any of this after what had just happened. I couldn’t treat her like I would need to. I had to get her out of here.

“Screw this,” Archer said in a gruff voice, echoing my thoughts. “We need to get out of here, get someplace safe and regroup. We can’t . . .”

We couldn’t put Kat through this, however it would turn out. I was ready to get in the Explorer and get her the hell away from here. Screw not only the plan but everything with it. We’d done our part. The Arum were coming, and all we had succeeded in doing now—all I had done—was exposing Kat to one of the worst pains there was, that of losing a loved one, of seeing it firsthand.

As Dee slowly backed away, I slid my hands to Kat’s arms. “We have to go,” I told her as I gradually stood, pulling her up.

Her legs didn’t seem to be working once I got her standing, and her face was red from crying, lips trembling as she lifted her head. Those beautiful eyes were glassed over.

“Leaving?” Her voice cracked.

I started to nod, but Kat jerked free suddenly. She wheeled around, and when I grabbed for her, she turned and socked me right in the stomach. I barely felt it. “Kat . . .”

“No,” she said, striking out again. Her hand connected with my arm. “No!” She swung again, her palm glancing off my cheek.

Eyes wide, Dee started toward her, but I held up my hand, warding her off. She shook her head as another one of Kat’s mostly ineffective punches connected with another part of my body.

“It’s all right,” I told them. “I’ll meet you outside.”

Dee’s brows pinched. “But—”

“Go!”

Dee hesitated, but Archer stepped forward and took her hand. They started for the door as I focused on Kat. I wasn’t even sure she saw me. The pupils of her eyes glowed white. She moved to hit me again and I let her have it.

“Do what you need to do,” I said, meaning it.

Kat’s fists pounded my chest, first with some oomph behind them, but I stood there, and I let her work it out until her punches slowed and her shoulders shook. There was no amount of pain she could inflict on me that would equal what she was feeling.

“Oh God,” she whispered, dropping her forehead to my chest. “Oh God, she’s dead, she’s really dead.” Her arms fell to her sides. “They did . . . this to her. Why?”

I circled my arms around her. “I don’t know, baby, but I’m sorry—I’m so sorry.”

She shuddered as she stood there, and I hated that I couldn’t give her time to adjust, to mourn. “We’ve got to—”

The shiver of awareness skated over my skin, and there it was, the ever-present hum increasing in my skull. Shit. I whipped around, shielding Kat’s body with mine as the front door slammed again.

Heavy footsteps made their way through the hall, into the dining room. I tensed, knowing it wasn’t Dee or Archer. The plan of going home and them coming to us had worked too well.

Ethan Smith walked into the kitchen.