He continued to stare, as if he could see right through me, right through my lies.
…
Daemon
Hours had passed since Kat and I parted ways and some poor excuse for dinner had been brought to my room. I tried to watch TV and even tried to sleep, but it was damn hard when I knew she was right next door, or when I heard her moving around in the bathroom. Once, in what might have been the middle of the night, I’d heard her footsteps at the door, and I knew she had been standing there, fighting the same need I was. But we had to be careful. Whatever reason they had for putting us in a space we could share couldn’t be a good thing, and I didn’t want to risk them relocating us, forcing us apart.
But I was worried about her. I knew she was hiding stuff, keeping whatever had gone on there before I arrived to herself. So like an idiot with no self-control whatsoever, I had gotten up and opened the bathroom door.
It had been dark and quiet, but I’d been correct. Kat was standing there, arms at her sides and so incredibly still. Seeing her like that punched a hole in my chest. She couldn’t stand or sit still for longer than twenty seconds, but now…
I’d kissed her gently and had said, “Go to sleep, Kitten. So we both can rest.”
She nodded and then said those three little words that never failed to bring me to my knees. “I love you.”
And then she was back in her room, and I was in mine. Finally, I did sleep.
When morning came, so did Nancy. Nothing like seeing her prim face and plastic smile first thing to start the day off right.
I’d expected to be reunited with Kat, but I was taken to the med floor for more blood tests and then shown the hospital room Kat had spoken of.
“Where is the little girl?” I asked, scanning the chairs for the small child Kat had mentioned but not seeing one. “I think her name was Lori or something.”
Nancy’s expression remained blank. “Unfortunately, she didn’t respond as we’d hoped. She passed a few days ago.”
Shit. I hoped Kat didn’t learn that. “You guys were giving her the LH-11?”
“Yes.”
“And it didn’t work?”
Her gaze sharpened. “You’re asking a lot of questions, Daemon.”
“Hey, you have me here, most likely using my DNA for this. Don’t you think I’m going to be a little curious about it?”
She held my stare for a moment and then turned back to one of the patients who was having a fluid bag changed out. “You think too much, and you know what they say about curiosity.”
“That it’s possibly the most cliché and stupid saying ever?”
One side of her lips tipped up. “I like you, Daemon. You’re a pain in the ass and a smart-mouth, but I like you.”
I smiled tightly. “No one can deny my charm.”
“I’m sure that’s true.” She paused as the sergeant entered the room, conversing quietly with one of the doctors. “Lori was given LH-11, but her reaction was not favorable.”
“What?” he asked. “It didn’t heal the cancer?”
Nancy didn’t respond, and that was that. Somehow I figured the unfavorable reaction was due to more than the cancer not healing. “You know what I think?” I said.
She tipped her head to the side. “I can only imagine.”
“Messing with human, hybrid, and alien DNA is probably asking for a world of trouble. You guys really don’t know what you have.”
“But we’re learning.”
“And making mistakes?” I asked.
She smiled. “There are no such things as mistakes, Daemon.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, but then my attention shifted to the window at the end of the room. My eyes narrowed. I could see other Luxen in there. Many of them looked as happy as a kid at Disneyland.
“Ah.” Nancy smiled, nodding at the window. “I see you’ve noticed. They are here because they want to help. If only you’d be that accommodating.”
I snorted. Who knew why the other Luxen were here, happy as clams, and I really didn’t care. I got that there were parts of Daedalus that were actually attempting to do something good, but I also knew what they did to my brother in the process.
All around me, doctors and lab technicians milled about. Some of the bags hooked up to the patients had a strange glittering liquid in them that vaguely resembled what we bled in our true form. “Is that LH-11?” I asked, gesturing at one of the bags.
Nancy nodded. “One of the versions—the newest—but that really isn’t a concern of yours. We have—”
A siren sounded, cutting off her words with an ear-piercing shrill. Lights on the ceilings flashed red. Patients and doctors looked around in alarm. Sergeant Dasher stormed out of the room.
Nancy cursed under her breath as she spun toward the door. “Washington, escort Mr. Black back to his room immediately.” She pointed at another guard. “Williamson, shut this room down. No one goes in or out.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
She shot me a look before stomping past. Like hell I wanted to go back to my room when things were obviously just getting fun. Out in the hall, lighting was dim and the blinking red light caused an annoying strobe effect.
The Guard of the Moment took one step, and chaos stormed into the corridor.
Soldiers poured out of rooms, locking them down and taking up guard in front of them. Another came down the hall, clutching a walkie-talkie in a knuckle-white grip. “We have activity on elevator ten, coming out of building B. Lock it down now.”