Текст книги "Oblivion"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 26 (всего у книги 51 страниц)

“I bet New York was your favorite place.”

“Actually, it’s not. It’s here.”

Kat laughed. “West Virginia?”

“It’s not that bad. There are a lot of us here. More so than any other place. I have friends who I can be myself with—a whole community, really. That’s important.”

“I can understand that.” She rested her chin on her pillow. “Do you think Dee is happy here? She makes it sound like she can’t leave. Like, ever.”

Shifting, I lifted my legs and stretched them out. “Dee wants to pave her own way in life, and I can’t blame her for that. If you haven’t noticed yet, there are more males than females. So the females are paired off very quickly and protected above all.”

She made a face. “Paired off and mated? I understand it—you guys need to reproduce. But Dee can’t be forced to do that. It’s not fair. You should control your own lives.”

I met her stare. “But we don’t, Kitten.”

“It’s not right,” she said passionately, as if she wanted to take up arms and defend our rights.

“It’s not. Most Luxen don’t push for anything different. Dawson did. He loved Bethany.” I exhaled raggedly. “We were against it. And I thought he was stupid for falling for a human. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“It was hard for him. Our group was upset with him, but Dawson…he was the strong one.” I smiled as I shook my head. Damn, that was so true, and I never gave him enough credit for that. “He didn’t cave, and if the colony had discovered the truth, I don’t think they would’ve changed him.”

“Couldn’t he have left with her, sneaked past the DOD? Maybe that’s what happened?”

“Dawson loved it here. He was big on hiking and outdoors. He was into the whole rustic-living thing.” I glanced at her. “He’d never leave, especially without telling Dee or me. I know both of them are dead.” My smile spread a little. “You would’ve liked Dawson. Looked just like me but a much better guy. Not a douche bag, in other words.”

“I’m sure I would’ve, but you’re not bad.”

I arched a brow.

“Okay, you’re prone to moments of great dickdom, but you’re not bad.” She paused, squeezing the pillow tight. “Do you want to know what I honestly think?”

“Should I be worried?” I asked warily.

Kat laughed. “There’s a really nice guy under the jerk. I’ve seen glimpses of him. So while I probably want to beat the crap out of you most of the time, I really don’t think you’re a bad guy. You have a lot of responsibility.”

Well then…

I tilted my head back. “Well, I guess that’s not too bad.”

“Can I ask you a question and you tell me the truth?” she asked.

“Always.”

She reached around her neck and pulled the piece of obsidian out. She held it in her hand. “The DOD is a bigger concern than the Arum, isn’t it?”

A muscle tensed along my jaw. “Yes.”

She ran a finger over the wire twisted at the top of the crystal. “What would they do if they knew I was moving things like you do?”

She’d spoken my earlier suspicions out loud.

“They’d probably do the same thing they’d do to us if they knew.” I reached out, cupping the hand that held the obsidian. I laid my finger over hers, stopping her movements. “They’d lock you up…or worse. But I’m not going to let that happen.”

“But how can you live like this? Like, just waiting for them to find out there’s more to you guys?”

My fingers curled around hers. “It’s all I’ve known—it’s all any of us have known.”

She blinked rapidly and whispered, “That’s really kind of sad.”

“It’s our life.” I paused, hating the sudden look of sadness in her gaze. “But don’t worry about them. Nothing will happen to you.”

Kat leaned in, stopping when our faces were only inches apart. “You’re always protecting others, aren’t you?”

I gently squeezed her hand and then leaned back, folding my arm under my head. “This hasn’t been a very birthday-friendly conversation.”

“It’s okay. You want more milk or anything?”

“No, but I would like to know something.”

She stretched out her legs and they ended up beside mine. “What?”

“How often do you run through the house singing?”

Kat moved to kick me, but I caught her toes, stopping her. “You can leave now,” she said.

I grinned, eyeing the reindeer. “I seriously love these socks.”

“Give me back my foot,” she ordered.

“It’s not so much the fact that they’ve got reindeer on them or that they go all the way up to your knees. But it’s the fact they’re like mittens on your feet.”

She wiggled her toes. “I like them like that. And don’t you dare knock them. I will kick you off this couch.”

I raised a brow as I turned her foot over, inspecting them. “Sock mittens, huh? Never seen anything like it. Dee would love them.”

She pulled at her foot, and I let go this time. “Whatever. I’m sure there’re cornier things than my socks. Don’t judge me. It’s the only thing I like about the holidays.”

“The only thing? I figured you’re the type of person who wants the Christmas tree to go up on Thanksgiving.”

“You celebrate Christmas?”

I shot her a bland look. “Yes. It’s the human thing to do. Dee loves Christmas. Actually, I think she just loves the idea of presents.”

She laughed. “I used to love the holidays. And yeah, I was real big on the Christmas tree when Dad was alive. We’d put it up while watching the parade on Thanksgiving.”

“But?”

“But Mom is never home on the holidays now. And I know she won’t be this year; since she’s new at the hospital, she’ll get the shaft.” Kat shrugged, but I could tell it bothered her. A lot. “I’m always alone on the holidays, like some sort of old cat woman.”

I could also tell that this conversation made her uncomfortable, made her sad. I changed the subject and picked one that would bring back some of the fire to her eyes. “So, this Bob guy…”

“His name is Blake, and don’t start, Daemon.”

“Fine.” I grinned, because there it was—the darkening in her eyes. “He’s not an issue anyway.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shrugged and changed the subject again. “I was kind of surprised when I was in your bedroom while you were sick.”

Her brows lifted. “I’m not sure I want to know about what.”

“You had a poster of Bob Dylan on the wall. I expected the Jonas Brothers or something.”

“Are you serious? No. Not a fan of pop music. I’m a huge fan of Dave Matthews and older stuff, like Dylan.”

That did surprise me, and that little tidbit kicked off a conversation about music and then movies. Of course, we ended up arguing, because seriously, we couldn’t have a conversation without one, but she thought the second Godfather movie was better than the first, and that was a simply wretched thing to say.

Hours passed, and it felt like only minutes. We ended up stretched out on opposite sides of the couch, side by side, both of us growing sleepy at the same time. We argued. We laughed. We were normal. It—all of this—was nice. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this relaxed.

I had no idea how much time had passed between the last time I blinked my eyes and reopened them. I knew it was really late, and there was a lull in the conversation, and I was drifting into that peaceful place between waking and sleeping. At some point, I opened my eyes. Not by much, just a thin slit really, and I found her watching me, her expression soft and…and downright perfect.

Kat moved suddenly, grabbing the large quilt off the back of the couch. She draped it over my legs. I waited for her to climb over me and leave, but she must’ve grabbed a second quilt and covered herself with it.

Another small victory.

“Thank you,” I murmured, closing my eyes again.

There was a pause. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Almost, but you’re staring at me.”

“I am not.”

I pried one eye open. “You always blush when you lie.”

“I do not.”

“If you keep lying, I think I will have to leave,” I threatened. “I don’t feel like my virtue is safe.”

“Your virtue?” She huffed. “Whatever.”

“I know how you get.” Grinning, I closed my eyes. In the background, the TV played more long-forgotten music. I knew I would need to get up soon, no matter what. If her mom came home and found me lying here, it wouldn’t be pretty. I was close to dozing off.

“Did you find it?” she asked.

I moved my hand over my chest. “Find what, Kitten?”

“What you were searching for?”

My eyes opened and my gaze held hers. “Yeah, sometimes, I think I did.”

Chapter 12

At the start of trig class on Monday, I couldn’t help but mention those socks when I sat down behind Kat.

“Reindeer socks today?” I asked.

“No. Polka dots.”

“Sock mittens?”

“Regular.” Her lips twitched as if she was fighting a grin.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that.” I tapped my pen on the edge of my desk, pretending to give this serious thought. “Regular socks just seem so boring after seeing the reindeer socks.”

Lesa cleared her throat. “Reindeer socks?”

“She has these socks that have reindeer on them and are kind of like a mitten for the toes,” I explained.

“Oh, I have a pair like that,” Carissa said, grinning. “But mine have stripes on them. Love them in the winter.”

Kat’s look was all smugness.

“Am I the only person who is wondering how you saw her socks?” Lesa asked.

Carissa punched her on the arm.

“We live next door to each other,” I reminded her. “I see lots of things.”

Kat shook her head frantically. “No, he doesn’t. He hardly sees anything.”

“Blushing,” I said, pointing at her cheeks with my pen.

“Shut up.” There wasn’t any heat to her words.

“Anyway, what are you doing tonight?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I have plans.”

“What kind of…plans?”

“Just plans.” She flipped back around in her seat.

Just plans? I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be thrilled with those plans. For some reason, I was surprised, because I had a strong suspicion those plans involved the douche bag, and after Saturday night…

Why the hell did I think Saturday night changed anything?

Because we slept side by side until I got my ass out of there before her mom came home. Barely. I had to tap into some light-speed shit to get out of the house without being caught.

As I sat back, I saw that Simon wasn’t in class today. Damn shame. I wanted to see how he acted around Kat to determine what kind of risk he posed, but I wasn’t too surprised by his absence. He hadn’t shown up for class on Friday, either. I still couldn’t believe he had the balls or the amount of stupidity to show his face Friday night.

I frowned at the formula the teacher wrote on the chalkboard. I was pretty sure it was not correct. Chewing on the end of my pen, I glanced at Kat.

She was looking over her shoulder at me. Pink zoomed across her cheeks, and she hastily turned around, but it was too late. I’d caught her.

Around the cap of my pen, I smiled.

It was around five when my phone dinged. It was from Matthew.

We need to meet. All of us. Including Katy. It’s about the DOD.

Kicking my feet off the coffee table, I sat up straight. I responded back only to him, but he wouldn’t answer any of my questions. All he was saying was that he was coming over here. No more than two seconds later, Dee appeared in the living room, cell phone in hand. She opened her mouth.

“Where’s Kat?” I asked.

She winced and then pivoted toward the door. “I’ll go get her.”

I beat her to the door, car keys in hand. “Where is she?”

Dee placed her hands on her hips, her lips pressed into a thin line.

“I can stand here and stare at you all night—it’s not going to change anything,” I told her, and then sighed. “Look, I pretty much guessed this morning that she was going out with him. It’s not a big surprise. I’ll go get her and you can stay here and make sure everyone stays cool. You’re better at that than me.”

She looked away, her jaw working. “She went to that restaurant that has Indian food—”

“Got it.” I slipped out the front door. Considering there was only one place in the county that sold Indian food, I knew where to go.

I drove to the restaurant, finding a parking spot across the street. Stepping inside, I immediately felt the warmth along the base of my neck. There wasn’t a wait at the door, and when the hostess approached me with a tired smile, I waved her off. “I’m meeting friends here. I know where they are.”

She stepped aside, and seriously, the place was small enough that I didn’t have to look hard. I passed candlelit tables, nearing a table obscured by a partition wall. I knew she was aware of me before she came into view. Her eyes tracked me right up to the table.

Douche Bag turned around, and his shoulders stiffened. He glanced at Kat. “Overprotective type…?”

“I don’t…even know what to say,” she mumbled helplessly.

“Hey guys.” I slid into the seat next to Kat. The whole left side of my body was pressed against hers. “Am I interrupting?”

“Yes,” she said, mouth agape.

“Oh, sorry.” I wasn’t sorry at all.

Douche Bag smiled as he sat back and folded his arms. “How are you doing, Daemon?”

“I’m doing great.” I stretched, draping my arm along the back of the booth. “How about you, Brad?”

He laughed softly. “My name’s Blake.”

I tapped my fingers on the back of the booth, brushing her hair. “So what were you guys up to?”

“We were having dinner.” Kat started to scoot forward, but I hooked my fingers around the back of her turtleneck. My fingers brushed the back of her neck, and she gasped, stilling.

“And I think we were just about done,” Blake said, his eyes fixed on me. “Weren’t we, Katy?”

“Yeah, we just need our check.” Under the table, Kat’s hand landed on my thigh. I liked where this was going until she pinched—pinched hard.

I tugged on her turtleneck. “What were you planning to do after dinner? Was Biff taking you to a movie?”

Douche Bag’s grin started to falter. “Blake. And that would be the plan.”

“Hmm.” I glanced at his glass of water and idly curled my finger.

His glass toppled over. Water sloshed over the table, spilling into his lap. The guy jumped up. “Shit.”

My finger moved again.

His plate of half-eaten spicy noodles slid onto the front of Blake’s sweater.

Kat’s mouth dropped open.

“Jesus,” Blake muttered, hands at his sides as he stared down at himself.

Grabbing napkins, Kat’s glare promised death as she handed the napkins to Douche Bag. I smirked. “That was…really strange.”

Face red, he glanced up from patting at his sweater and crotch. His eyes met mine, and for a second, something I saw in them sent my instinct flaring. Something about those eyes wasn’t…normal.

Then again, I had just dropped a glass of water and a plate of noodles in his lap, so his murderous stare was kind of expected.

Quietly and with stiff, jerky movements, he brushed off the brown noodles. The waitress rushed to his side with several more napkins.

“Well, anyway, I’m actually here for a reason.” I picked up Kat’s glass and took a drink. “You’re needed at home.”

Douche Bag halted his movements. “Excuse me?”

“Did I speak too fast, Bart?”

“His name is Blake,” she snapped. “And why am I needed at home? Right now, at this very moment?”

I met her eyes. “Something has come up and you need to check it out now.”

She started to respond, and then she got what I wasn’t saying. She stiffened and then turned to Douche Bag. “I’m really, really sorry about this.”

His gaze darted between us as he picked up the check. “It’s okay. Things happen.”

“I’ll make it up. I promise.”

He smiled. “It’s all right, Katy. I’ll take you home.”

“That won’t be necessary.” I smiled, but there was nothing warm about it. “I got this, Biff.”

Kat looked like she wanted to smack me. “Blake. His name is Blake, Daemon.”

“It’s okay, Katy,” he said, lips thin. “I’m a mess.”

“Then it’s solved.” I stood and Kat scooted out.

Everybody was all kinds of happy as Douche Bag took care of the check and our awesome threesome headed outside. I waited, oh so patiently, when she stopped by his car.

“I am so, so sorry,” she said.

I rolled my eyes.

“It’s okay. You didn’t knock the stuff on me.” Douche Bag looked at me, and I raised my brows. “Although that was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. But anyway, we’ll make up for it when I get back from break, okay?”

“Okay.” She started to give him a hug but halted.

Douche Bag laughed and then leaned in, kissing Kat, and it took everything in me not to pitch him into oncoming traffic. “I’ll call you,” he said.

Kat nodded as I walked to where I parked. Opening the door for her, I waited. “You ready?” I asked, and she stalked over to the car and climbed in, slamming the door. I frowned at her. “Hey. Don’t take your anger out on Dolly.”

“You named your car Dolly?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

She rolled her eyes.

I jogged around the front of the car and slid in. The moment I closed the door, Kat hauled off and legit punched me in the arm. “You are such a jerk! I know you did the glass and plate thing. That was so wrong!”

I held up my hands, unable to hold my laughter back any longer. “What? It was funny. The look on Bo’s face was priceless. And the kiss he gave you? What was that? I’ve seen dolphins give hotter kisses than that.”

“His name is Blake!” She punched my leg this time. “And you know it! I can’t believe you acted like that. And he doesn’t kiss like a dolphin!”

I snorted. “From what I’ve seen, he does.”

“You didn’t see the last time we kissed.”

My laughter ended with a quickness as I looked over at her. “You’ve kissed him before?”

“That’s none of your business.” Her cheeks flushed.

Oh man, a huge part of me wanted to point out that she yelled at me for assuming I was hooking up with Ash after kissing her when she, in fact, just admitted to doing what she accused me of. It took an act of God to make me not go there. “I don’t like him.”

“You don’t even know him.”

“I don’t need to know him to see that there’s something…off about him.” The car roared to life. “I don’t think you should be hanging out with him.”

“Oh, this is rich, Daemon. Whatever.”

I glanced over at her again, catching her shivering. “Are you cold? Where’s your jacket?”

“I don’t like jackets.”

“Did they do something terrible and unforgivable to you, too?” I turned up the heat. Warm air blasted out of the vents.

“I find them…cumbersome.” She sighed loudly. It was rather impressive. “What was so freaking imperative that you had to go stalker mode and find me?”

“I wasn’t stalking you.”

“Oh, you weren’t? Did you use your alien GPS system to find me?”

“Well, yeah, sort of.” I was so not about to tell her Dee had told me where she was.

“Argh! This is so wrong.” For a second, I thought she was going to hit me again. “So what’s the deal?”

I waited until I hit the highway. “Matthew has called a meeting of the minds, and you should be there. It has to do with the DOD. Something’s happened.”

“What?” she whispered. “What’s happened?”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I don’t know, but I’m…”

“You’re what?”

“We haven’t heard from the DOD since before Halloween. That’s not normal, especially with all the energy we put out while fighting Baruck. Something’s up and I…I don’t think it’s good, Kitten.”

When the Thompsons arrived a few minutes after we got back to my house, Andrew looked at Kat sitting in the chair and rolled his eyes. “Anyone have a clue why she’s here?”

Kat sighed. Andrew knew Matthew had texted Kat needed to be here. He was just trying to make her feel uncomfortable.

“She needs to be here.” Matthew closed the door behind him and walked into the center of the room. Dee waved at him in between shoving fistfuls of popcorn into her mouth. “I want to keep this little get-together short.”

“The DOD knows about her, right? We’re all in trouble?” Ash asked, running her hand over purple tights.

Kat paled. “Do they, Mr. Garrison?”

“As far as I know, they don’t know about you,” he said. “The Elders called a meeting tonight because of the increase in DOD presence here. It appears something has caught the DOD’s attention.”

Adam stared at a buttery piece of popcorn. “Well, what did they see? No one’s done anything wrong.”

Dee set the bag of popcorn aside. “What’s the deal?”

Matthew’s gaze circled the room. “One of their satellites picked up the light show from Halloween weekend, and they’ve been out to the field, using some sort of machine that picks up on residual energy.”

I scoffed. So now we knew they were aware of what went down, but that was nothing in comparison. “The only thing they’re going to find is a burned patch of ground.”

“They know we can manipulate light for self-defense, so from what I’ve gathered, that’s not what caught their attention.” Matthew looked at me, frowning. “It’s the fact that the energy was so strong it disrupted a satellite’s signal and they weren’t able to snap any pictures of the event. Nothing like that has ever happened before.”

I schooled my expression blank. “I guess I’m just that awesome.”

Adam laughed under his breath. “You’re so powerful you’re disrupting signals now?”

“Disrupted only the signal?” Matthew barked a short laugh. “It destroyed the satellite—a satellite designed to track high-frequency light and energy. It zeroed in on Petersburg, and the event destroyed the satellite.”

“Like I said, I’m that awesome.” I smiled despite the tension creeping into my muscles.

“Wow,” Andrew murmured. Respect gleamed in his eyes. “That’s pretty awesome.”

“As awesome as that is, the DOD is very curious. The Elders believe they will be here a while, monitoring things. That they’ve been here.” Matthew paused and glanced at his wristwatch. “It’s imperative that everyone is on their best behavior.”

“What do the other Luxen have to say about this?” Dee asked.

“They aren’t too concerned at this point. And they have no reason to be,” Matthew said.

“Because it was Daemon who caused such a disruptive burst of energy and not them,” Ash said, and then she gasped. “Does the DOD suspect we have more abilities?”

“I think they want to know how it’s possible that he was able to do something like that.” Matthew studied me. “The Elders told them there was a fight among our kind. No one implicated you, Daemon, but they already know you’re strong. You can be expecting a visit from them soon.”

I shrugged, sort of welcoming their visit, because their being absent was more worrisome than their being all up in my shit.

“Katy, it’s very important that you’re careful when hanging around the Blacks,” Matthew continued. “We don’t want the DOD suspecting that you know anything you shouldn’t.”

“Speak for yourself,” Andrew muttered.

I faced him. “Andrew, I’m going to knock the—”

“What?” Andrew exclaimed. “I’m just telling the truth. I don’t have to like her because you’re infatuated with the stupid human. None—”

Shooting across the room, I shifted into my true form as I snatched up and slammed Andrew into the wall. Pictures rattled. Plaster probably cracked, but I was so done with the shit he kept saying about Kat, so fucking over it.

“Daemon!” Kat shrieked.

Ash jumped out of her chair. “What are you doing?”

I thought I heard my sister say, “Here we go. Popcorn?”

And then from Adam, “Honestly, Andrew needs his ass kicked. The DOD’s being here isn’t Katy’s fault. She has just as much to lose as we do.”

Ash spun. “So you’re taking her side now? A human’s?”

“This isn’t about sides,” Kat argued.

Matthew shifted and placed his hand on my shoulder. When he spoke it wasn’t out loud. You need to let him go, Daemon. Now.

He needs to stop talking shit.

Andrew wasn’t saying a word now. I think he got the point.

Daemon, please. Fighting among ourselves isn’t going to make this situation easier.

I pressed into Andrew. Knock this shit off with Kat. I’m being serious, man. I love you like a brother, I really do, but I’m not going to tolerate this. No more.

“None of this would be happening if you hadn’t shown up here. You would’ve never gotten the original trace on you!” Ash shouted, drawing my attention. “The Arum would’ve never seen you, and this whole messed-up chain of events would’ve never happened!”

“Oh, shut up, Ash,” Dee shot back. “Seriously. Katy risked her life to make sure the Arum didn’t know where we lived.”

“That’s great and dandy,” Ash snapped back. “But Daemon wouldn’t have gone all Rambo on the Arum if his precious human weren’t in danger every five seconds. This is her fault.”

“I’m not his precious human!” she shouted, and Andrew flickered back into his human form. Matthew was still talking, but I wasn’t listening to him anymore. “I’m just his…his friend,” Kat said. “And that’s what friends do. They protect each other. Well, it’s what human friends do, at least.”

“And it’s what the Luxen do,” Adam said. “Some just forget that.”

Ash wasn’t having it. “I’ll wait outside.”

In a few seconds, Andrew sidestepped me. I watched him closely. “Dude,” he said. “That was just wrong. Knock me around all you want, but I’m not going to be okay with her.”

“Andrew,” Matthew warned.

“What?” Andrew threw up his hands. “Do you really think she can hold her own against the DOD if they question her? Because of how close she is to Dee and you, they will ask her questions. And you, Daemon, are you planning to do a repeat of your brother? Wanna die for her, too?”

My light flared brighter, and I was seconds from putting Andrew through a wall when I felt Kat’s hand wrap around my wrist. The touch in my true form jolted me. Calmed me.

“That was a low blow,” Kat said, her voice shaking. “He doesn’t even deserve your ass-kicking, Daemon.”

“She’s right,” Adam said. He moved to stand next to me. “But if you want to put him out of commission for the next week after that comment, I’ll help.”

“Gee, thanks, brother.” Andrew scowled.

Yeah, I wanted to knock him into next week, but what did that solve? Nothing. I shifted into my human form, looking down at where Kat’s hand was still wrapped around my wrist. A charge passed between us, a crackling shock. She let go.

“This is the kind of display we cannot afford.” Matthew ran his hand over his head. “I think that’s enough for this evening. Both of you need to cool down and keep in mind that they are here. We need to be careful.”

Everyone, including Dee, left the house. My sister wanted to make sure Adam didn’t murder his brother. Understandable. Kat and I were left alone.

Thirsty and needing something to distract myself with, I walked to the kitchen. Kat followed, her voice soft. “I’m sorry about what Andrew said. That was wrong.”

“It is what it is,” I said, grabbing two cans of Coke. I handed her one.

“Still not right.”

I searched her face intently for some sign of fear. “Are you worried about the DOD being here?”

There was a pause. “Yeah, I am.”

“Don’t be,” I said, even though she should be.

“Easier said than done.” She played with the tab on the can. “It’s not me I’m worried about. They think you’re responsible for what happened—the crazy energy thing. What if they think you’re…a danger?”

How could I answer that? “It’s not just me, Kitten. Even if I had done that, it’s never been about me. It’s about all the Luxen.” I looked away, wetting my lips. “You know what Matthew believes?”

“No.”

A cynical grin pulled at my lips. “He believes that one day, probably not in our generation, but someday, my kind and the Arum will nearly outnumber yours.”

“Really? That’s kind of…”

“Scary?”

She tucked her hair back. “I don’t know if it’s scary. I mean, the Arum thing is, but your kind—the Luxen—freaky powers aside…you’re not very different from us.”

“What about the fact that we’re made of light?”

She smiled a little. “Well, besides that.”

“It got me thinking,” I said, going back to my point about what Matthew believed. “That if some of our kind believe this, how come the DOD isn’t worried?”

“What happens if they think you are a threat? And don’t beat around the bush about it.”

Part of me didn’t want to tell her this, but keeping her in the dark wasn’t going to help her. “When I was at the compound before, there were Luxen who didn’t assimilate. Mostly they didn’t want to be kept under the thumb of the DOD. Others I guessed were viewed as a threat because they asked too many questions. Who really knows?”

She swallowed thickly. “What happened to them?”

Several moments passed before I answered. “They killed them.”