“Well, dating your mom did have its benefits. Don’t get me wrong. I do care about her. She’s a lovely woman, but…”
I wanted to hurt him. Badly. “You…told them about…Dawson and Bethany?”
He flashed a smile, showing off perfect white teeth. “The DOD was already monitoring them. Any time a Luxen gets close to a human, they do, hoping the Luxen will mutate the human. I was staying with her parents when she returned from hiking. I had my suspicions, and I was right.”
“You…you were sick.”
Something dark flashed in his eyes. “Hmm, haven’t you been doing your research?” When I said nothing, he smirked. “And I won’t ever be sick again.”
I blinked. He’d sold out his only family.
“I brought them in first…and, well, we know what happened from there.” He knelt down, head tilted to the side. “But you’re different. Your fever ran higher, you responded to the serum miraculously, and you’re stronger than Bethany.”
“Serum?”
“Yes. It’s called Daedalus, named after the division within the DOD that oversees mutated humans. They’ve been working on it for years—a mixture of human and alien DNA. I injected you with it when you first became ill.” Will laughed. “Come on, did you think you’d survive a mutation of that kind of magnitude without help?”
Oh my God…
“You see, not all mutated humans survive the change or the booster shot developed to enhance your abilities. That’s what the Daedalus is trying to find out. Why only some—some like you, Bethany, and Blake—react approvingly to the mutation and others do not. And you, you I hear are quite amazing in that department.”
He’d shot me up with something? I felt violated on a whole new level. Anger continued to build inside me, overshadowing the pain.
“Why?” I croaked.
Will looked pleased. Excited. “It’s rather simple. Daemon has something I want, and you will ensure he behaves long enough so this meeting ends beneficially for all parties involved. And I do have something, besides you, that he will do anything for.”
“He’ll…kill you,” I rasped, wincing.
“Doubtful. And you really shouldn’t talk,” he said conversationally. “I think you’ve done some permanent damage to your vocal chords. I’ve been downstairs for a while, waiting for you to stop screaming.”
Downstairs? I realized then that we were most likely in the warehouse that Daemon had attempted to investigate the night we ran into the officers. Moving restlessly, I moaned as he brought the handcuffs more into contact with my skin. I may’ve faded out for a few seconds, because when I opened my eyes, Will was leaning closer.
“Did you know the Luxen healing power is at its strongest when a person is wounded and the effects weaken the longer the gap is between the injury and the healing? So I’m thinking he won’t be able to fix the voice thing.”
I drew in a ragged, painful breath that scorched my throat. “Fuck…you.”
Will laughed. “Don’t be angry, Katy. I don’t mean him any harm. You, either. I just need you compliant while Daemon and I negotiate. And if he plays along, both of you will walk out of this building alive.”
An unexpected jolt of pain rocked me, and my body went stiff as I gasped. It felt like my cells really were bouncing off one another, trying to escape.
He stood, hands clenching at his sides. “I almost thought I lost it all this weekend. You can imagine how pissed I was when I learned that Vaughn was dead. He was supposed to bring you to me then. That poor boy had no idea that his own uncle was working to undermine what Nancy had him doing.” He laughed, trailing his fingers over the bars. “Kind of messed up, if you think about it. Vaughn knew that Nancy would be pissed, most likely would take it out on Blake’s little alien friend. Although I shouldn’t talk, since I turned over Bethany and Dawson. I should’ve tried it with them, but I wasn’t thinking. Dawson is very much like his brother. He’d have done anything for Bethany.”
Anger broke through the pain, burning just as bright. “You…”
He stopped at the front of the cage. “As far as I know, it hasn’t worked yet.”
I really had no idea what he was talking about, but pieces clicked together. Will had betrayed his own niece. The bank transfer slips made sense. Will had been paying Vaughn off, but for what? I didn’t know. Whatever it was, it was enough for Vaughn to go against the DOD, and it also explained why he’d stopped Blake from telling Nancy any of my progress.
“Don’t worry. Daemon is a smart one.” Will turned my old cell over, smiling. “He responded eventually. And let’s just say my response will lead him to us.”
I focused through the pain, concentrating on what he was saying. “What do you...want from him?”
Will tossed the phone aside and grasped the torturous bars. His eyes met mine, and there was that excitement again, the childlike awe. “I want him to mutate me.”
Chapter 35
I’d been expecting a lot of things. Like maybe he wanted Daemon to annihilate an entire town or rob a bank for him, but to mutate him? If pain weren’t racking my body, I would’ve laughed at the absurdity.
Will must’ve sensed my thoughts, because he scowled. “You have no idea what you’re truly capable of. What is money and prestige when you have the kind of power to force people to your will? When you never get sick? When no human and no alien life-form can stop you?” His knuckles bleached. “You don’t understand, little girl. Sure, you watched your father succumb to cancer, and I’m sure that was terrible for you, but you still have no idea what it’s like when your body turns against you, when every day is a battle to just survive.”