“And what if that’s not it?” I asked, hating the icy feeling slushing through my veins.
Luc’s amethyst gaze was concentrated. “What if it’s not? I have a feeling that’s not going to stop you from trying again. It’s a risk and everything has risks. You’re lucky you got out of there last time before anyone realized what happened. You get another chance. Most people don’t.”
Talking to this kid was weird, because he had the mannerisms and speech patterns of a well-educated adult. “You’re right,” I said. “We’re still going to try.”
“But knowing all the perils ahead seems unfair?” He tucked back a strand of brown hair, his angelic face impassive. “Life’s not fair, babe.”
Daemon stiffened beside me. “Why do I have a feeling there’s a lot you’re not telling us?”
Luc’s lips formed a half smile. “Anyway, you came here for a reason other than those onyx shields? Let’s get to the point.”
Annoyance flashed across Daemon’s face. “An unstable hybrid attacked Kat.”
“That’s what unstable people do, hybrid or not.”
I bit back a snappy retort. “Yeah, we figured that much, but she was my friend. She gave no indication that she knew anything about the Luxen. She was fine, got sick, and then came to my house and went nuts.”
“You didn’t give any indication you know ET didn’t phone home.”
What a little brat. I took a deep breath. “I get that, but this was out of the blue.”
Luc leaned back in his chair, kicking his legs onto the desk. He crossed them at the ankles. “I don’t know what to tell you about that. She may’ve known about the Luxen, gotten hurt, and some poor sap tried and failed to heal her. Or the Man pulled her off the street like they do at times. And unless you know some darn good torture techniques and are willing to employ them on an Officer of Daedalus, I don’t see how you’ll ever know.”
“I refuse to accept that,” I whispered. Knowing would bring some kind of closure and justice.
He shrugged. “What happened to her?” Curiosity colored his tone.
My breath caught in my throat as I balled my hands into fists. “She’s no longer…”
“Ah,” Luc murmured. “She did the whole spontaneous combustion thing?” The look on my face must’ve been answer enough because he sighed sadly. “Sick. Sorry about that. A twisted history lesson for you—you know all those unexplained cases of spontaneous combustion throughout history?”
Daemon grimaced. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“Funny how there’s not many cases known, but they do happen out in the noob world.” He spread his arms wide to indicate the world outside this office. “Hybrids—my theory at least, and it makes sense if you think about it—most do the self-destruction thing in the facilities, but a few do it outside. That’s why the occurrence is rare to humans.”
All of this was good and a little disturbing to think about, but it wasn’t why we were here. “My friend was wearing a bracelet—”
“Tiffany’s?” he asked and smirked.
“No.” I smiled tightly. “It was just like the one you’re wearing.”
Surprise rolled over Luc’s face like a wave. The little punk dropped his legs onto the floor and sat straight. “Not good.”
Foreboding chills skated over my skin as Daemon zeroed in on Luc. “Why is that not good?”
He seemed to debate whether he should talk about it and then went with a, “Oh, what the hell. You’ll owe me, hope you realize. But what you see here?” Luc flicked a finger along the stone. “It’s a black opal—so rare that only a few mines can even unearth these babies. And it’s only these kinds.”
“The ones that look like they have fire in them?” I asked, leaning forward to get a better look. It really did look like a black orb with a flame inside. “Where are they mined?”
“Australia, usually. There’s something in the composition of a black opal that’s like a power booster. You know, like Mario gets when he hits a mushroom. Imagine that sound. That’s what a black opal does.”
“What kind of composition?” Daemon asked, eyes sharp with interest.
Luc unhooked the bracelet and held it up in the dim light. “Opals have this remarkable ability to refract and reflect specific wavelengths of light.”
“No way,” Daemon breathed, and apparently that was super cool. I was still lost on the whole stone and light thing.
“Yes.” Luc smiled at the stone, like a father smiles at his prodigal son. “I don’t know who discovered it. Someone in Daedalus, I’m sure. Once they figured out what it could do, they kept it away from the Luxen and ones like us.”
“Why?” I felt stupid for asking, mainly because both of them looked at me like I was. “What? I don’t have a degree in alien mineralogy. Geez.”
Daemon patted my thigh. “It’s okay. Refracting and reflecting wavelengths of lights affects us, like the obsidian affects Arum and onyx affects us.”
“Okay,” I said slowly.
Luc’s purple eyes glimmered. “Refracting light changes the direction and speed. Our friendly neighborhood aliens are made of light—well, made of more than that, but let me explain it this way: let’s say their DNA is light. And let’s say that once a human is mutated, their DNA is now encased in wavelengths of light.”