Текст книги "Oblivion"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 50 (всего у книги 51 страниц)

Chapter 22

Silvery moonlight streamed through the bedroom window, shining enough light for me to see what I was doing. I should be asleep. Tuesday morning, and school was going to come soon enough, and I should be exhausted after messing around with onyx all evening, but I wanted to get this done before I forgot.

I carefully wrapped the white rope around the center of the piece of opal. The rope was thin, leaving most of the stone bare. It would work, at least temporarily. Kat would be able to wear it under her shirt.

Most likely, she was going to fight me on the opal, but that was one battle I wasn’t going to lose. Speaking of Kat…

Lifting my chin as I felt the warm tingle along the back of my neck, I smiled as I placed the opal and the white rope into my desk drawer. I turned toward the bedroom a second before the door cracked open. Slim fingers curled around the door.

“Kitten…” I chuckled. “Breaking and entering again?”

“I didn’t break anything. I let myself in.” There was a moment, and then Kat poked her head in, brow furrowed. “You’re awake,” she whispered.

“Uh-huh.”

Her frown increased. “You were supposed to be asleep.”

My lips kicked up on one side. “For what reason?”

More of her head appeared. Her hair was pulled up in a topknot. “I wanted to sneak into your bed and surprise you.”

“I can make that happen.” I started to stand. “I’ll go crawl into bed and pretend to be asleep.”

She pouted. “Not the same thing.”

“No?”

Kat shook her head. “No, because you’re awake.”

“All right then.” I sat back down, grinning. “Are you going to come into my room or stay halfway in the hall?”

“I don’t know yet.”

I chuckled. “Kitten…”

Huffing, she slipped inside my bedroom and closed the door behind her. Muscles tightened all over when I got a good look at her. Wearing striped cotton shirts and a long-sleeved shirt that was amazingly thin, she was dressed for bed.

I toed my desk chair around so I was facing her as she made her way across the room. “Your mom is going to be very upset if she catches you not in your bed.”

“She won’t catch me. I was quiet and stealthy—”

“Like me?” I reached out, catching one of her hands.

She grinned. “Better. Like a ninja.”

Chuckling, I tugged her into my lap. The chair groaned under our combined weight. She placed her hand on my bare chest as she dipped her head to mine. My lips brushed overs hers. “When I left your house, you were half asleep.”

“I napped.” She slid her hand up my chest and looped her arm around my neck. “I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep.”

Leaning back in the chair, I dragged my thumb along the side of her jaw. “You were missing me.”

“Maybe.”

“Just admit it.” I swept my finger over her lower lip.

She pressed a soft kiss to the tip of my finger. “I don’t need to admit anything, because if your ego gets any bigger, it’ll need its own zip code.”

I snorted. “I know something else that’ll need its own zip code if it gets any—”

“Oh my God.” Kat laughed. “Don’t even finish that sentence.”

Chuckling, I kissed her, and she melted into me. Everything and nothing had changed between us since Saturday night. Each kiss and touch seemed to mean infinitely more, and I didn’t think it had to do with the sex. Though the sex was really awesome. It had more to do with the whole almost-dying part.

Both of us knew there was no guarantee of tomorrow, but what happened Saturday had been a real harsh reminder that no second was promised. It made every moment with her more precious.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Her lips brushed mine as she spoke.

I kissed the corner of her lips. “I was missing you.”

“Shut up.”

Folding my arms around her, I held her tight as she pressed her cheek to my chest. “Just wasn’t sleepy.” I rested my chin atop her head.

“Hmm…” She wiggled a little, getting comfortable. “Were you thinking about Sunday night?”

I kissed the top of her head. “I was thinking about Saturday night.”

Kat laughed. “Whatever. You were not thinking about prom.”

“Maybe I was. I have big things planned for you.” That was the truth.

“What stuff?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Tell me,” she demanded.

I laughed. “Then it wouldn’t be a surprise, Kitten. You know how these things work. I keep it a secret until the perfect moment.”

She sighed. “You’re no fun.”

“And we’re probably going to break this chair.”

Snorting, she squirmed out of my lap. “I should probably head—” Her words were cut off when she squealed as I picked her up, carrying her to the bed.

I dumped her on it.

Kat squeaked like a little toy. “Oh, you’re so gonna get it.”

“I hope so.” Climbing over her, I prowled up her length and planted my hands on either side of her head. “You’re going to stay the night with me.”

She placed her hands on my chest. “I just need to get back next door before my mom wakes up.”

“Doable.”

Kat lifted her head, but before our lips met, I asked, “You were thinking about Sunday night, weren’t you? That’s why you’re awake.”

She bit down on her lower lip. “Yeah, I was. Kind of hard not to.”

Understandable. We were down to days, and I knew it was wearing on everyone’s mind, including mine. But I didn’t want to spend the next handful of days worrying about Sunday. I wanted to live them.

I wanted to live these days with Kat.

And tonight, I didn’t want her thinking about anything but us. Lowering my mouth to hers, I kissed her softly, smiling when her fingers found their way into my hair. I made sure she didn’t spend a second more worrying about Sunday.

Chapter 23

When I first saw Kat in her prom dress, I was more than willing to skip the whole damn dance so I could have her all to myself. And while I normally had no problem acting on my selfishness, Kat deserved this night.

Ms. Swartz had clutched her camera in her hand like it was going to run away from her while I’d waited for Kat in their living room. She’d come down the stairs, absolutely gorgeous in the red gown.

Damn.

Red really was my favorite color.

Lips painted to match her dress had parted as she’d eyed me. I didn’t wear tuxedos often, but when I did, I made them look damn good.

But she had looked beautiful, and as her mom had taken a thousand pictures of us, I couldn’t stop staring at her. I’d spent every moment of the dance staring at her, and when she’d said she was ready to go, I couldn’t get her out of there fast enough.

The moment we got inside my car, Kat stared at me expectedly, and I cast a long, knowing glance in her direction. “You’re dying to know, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “You should tell me.”

Kat really had no idea what I had planned for her tonight, and I wanted to keep it that way. Thank God the weather was nice. A little cool, but no rain. It made what I wanted to do perfect.

I managed to keep her in the dark on the drive back home. Parking the car in the driveway, I turned to her. “Stay in the car, okay?”

Looking entirely suspicious and excited, she nodded. I grinned as I stepped out of the car and hit record-breaking speeds as I raced down to the lake.

Covered with a canvas, the cooler was where I left in. On top of it were several thick blankets and pillows. Waving my hand, I spread them out around the branches piled inside a stone circle. The blankets spread out, along with the pillows, forming a comfortable nest.

Placing my hand on one of the branches, I summoned the Source. Sparks flew, igniting the dried-out branches. Flames swirled down their crooked lengths. Thin wisps of smoke billowed up.

Done, I headed back to where Kat waited in the car. I walked up to the passenger side and opened the door, extending my hand. “Ready?”

Kat gave me her hand. “So my surprise…?”

“You’ll see.”

Hand in hand, we started walking toward the lake, and when we crossed the street that had basically exposed what we were to Kat, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like if Kat hadn’t walked out in front of that truck. She would definitely be safer, and my brother wouldn’t be here with us. So much stuff would be different, and I wasn’t sure if the pros outweighed the cons.

“Do you think you can walk in those heels?” I asked, realizing the wickedly sexy shoes she was wearing couldn’t be easy to walk in.

She squeezed my hand. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

I took it slow, and when we entered the heavy woods, I lifted my free hand and let white light crackle over my knuckles, lighting our path over the uneven ground. Man, I hoped she didn’t think this was corny and stupid. Okay. It was a little corny, but when we stepped out of the last of the trees and I could see the moonlight reflected off the still lake, the look on Kat’s face said I had made the right decision.

“Surprise,” I said, stepping ahead, my back to the fire. “I thought this would be better than a party or whatever. And you like the lake. So do I.”

Kat pressed her hand to her chest as she blinked rapidly. “It’s perfect, Daemon. Oh my God, it’s wonderful.” “Really?” I cleared my throat, relieved. “You really like it?”

“I love it.” She laughed, the sound lilting and heady. “I really love this.”

I smiled.

Kat launched herself at me, wrapping her arms and legs around me. She kissed my forehead and then each of my cheeks. “You really love it. I’m glad.”

I walked us over to the blankets and then placed her down. We kicked off our shoes and settled in. Kat tucked her legs under her. “What’s in the cooler?”

“Ah, the good stuff.” I moved to the cooler and knelt down, cracking it open. I pulled out two wineglasses. “Wine cooler—strawberry. Your favorite.”

The skin around her eyes crinkled as she laughed. “Oh my God.”

I poured each of us a glass and handed hers over.

“What else?” She leaned over, peering inside. She made a little squeak as I pulled out a canister and peeled the lid off, revealing chocolate-covered strawberries. “Did you make them?”

“Ha. No.”

“Uh…did Dee make them?” she asked.

I laughed, because Dee would’ve burned down the house if she had tried to melt chocolate without burning it. “I ordered them from the candy shop in time. Try one?”

Kat plucked one up. “They are so good.”

“There’s more.” I pulled out a plastic container full of sliced cheese and crackers. “Also premade from the store, because I am not a cook or whatever.”

Unveiling the cucumber sandwiches and veggie pizza next, we dug in as we sat on the blankets facing each other.

“When did you do all of this?” She asked for another slice of veggie pizza.

Picking up a strawberry, I thought it was kind of small. A wimpy strawberry. “I had the stuff in the cooler down here and the blankets wrapped in canvas. All I did when we got back was come down here real quick, spread the stuff out, and start the fire.”

She finished off the slice. “You’re amazing.”

I raised a brow as I tossed the strawberry back in the canister and rooted around for another. “I know it didn’t take you this long to realize that.”

“No. I’ve always known it,” she said. “Maybe not in the beginning…”

I peeked up. “My awesomeness is all about the stealth.”

“Is it?”

“Uh-huh.” I grinned, closing the bowl and placing the rest of the food back in the cooler. Tossing her a soda, I cleaned everything up. “I can’t show all my dynamic sides at once.”

“Of course not. Where’s the mystery in that?”

The temps had dropped a little, so I picked up a throw blanket. I draped it over her shoulders as I sat beside her. “There is none.”

“Thank you.” She pulled the material close.

“I think the general public would be shocked to know how deep your sweetness runs.”

Stretching out, I rested on my side. “They can never know.”

Grinning, she leaned forward and kissed my lips. “I’ll take the secret to my grave.”

“Good.” I patted the spot next to me. “We can go back whenever you want.”

“I don’t want to leave.”

“Then get your happy little hybrid butt over here.”

Kat laughed as she scooted over and lay down beside me. I moved the pillow so it was under her head. “I had fun at the dance, but this…this was way better.”

I played with one of her fat curls, twining the hair around my finger. “I’m glad. I wanted tonight to be special.”

“It is.” She idly flicked a button on my dress shirt. “Best senior prom ever.”

Chuckling, I let go of the curl. “It’s your only senior prom.”

“Still…” She tipped her head back and smiled at me. “So I looked over the applications to the University of Colorado. Even mentioned it to my mom.”

Pleased to hear that, we talked about the college until well after midnight. It was late, and the temps had definitely dropped again, but neither of us wanted to leave yet.

“Are you worried about tomorrow at all?” she asked, running the tips of her fingers along the curve of my jaw.

Her fingers drifted close to my lips, and I kissed them. “I’m worried—but I’d be insane not to be—but not about what you think.”

“What then?” She slid her hand down my neck, over my shirt.

I shifted closer. “I worry that Beth won’t be like Dawson remembered.”

“Me, too.”

“I know he can handle it, though.” Because I was getting jealous, I slipped my hand under the blanket. “I just want the best for him. He deserves it.”

“He does.” Her chest rose sharply as I followed the curve of her waist and hip. “I hope she’s okay—that everyone is okay, even Chris.”

I nodded as I gently eased her onto her back, smoothing my hand over the skirt of her dress, all the way down to her knee. “Something else is bothering you.”

There was a moment of hesitation. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Her voice cracked. “I don’t want anything to happen to anyone.”

“Shh.” I kissed her, wanting to wipe away that fear. “Nothing will happen to me or anyone.”

Kat’s hands fisted in my shirt, holding me close. “What happens if we do succeed tomorrow night?”

“You mean when we do?” I settled over her. “We go back to school on Monday—boring, I know. Then we hopefully pass our classes, which we will. Then we graduate. And then we have all summer…”

“Daedalus will come looking for Beth and Chris.”

“And they won’t find them.” I kissed her temple and then the curve of her brow. “That is, if they get close enough.”

“Daemon…”

“It’ll be okay. Don’t worry.” It had to be. I would make sure of it, one way or another. “Let’s not think about tomorrow. Let’s not think about next week or the next night. It’s just us right now and nothing else.”

Kat’s heart rate kicked up. Her eyes drifted shut, and her arms tightened around me. The distant call of some nighttime bird echoed around us as the small, slow kisses became longer and faster.

Our clothing shifted. Our hands followed familiar paths. Flames crackled from the fire as we stripped away everything between us and we moved together, a tangle of limbs and blankets. Kat shuddering in my arms was one of the most shattering experiences, and hours later, as she and I stared up at the dark blue sky, watching the stars blink out, one by one.

Just like the minutes and hours was ticking by, fading away into forever, counting down until there was just Mount Weather and us.

Succeed or fail.

Chapter 24

Time sped up, and before any of us knew it, we needed to get to Mount Weather. Kat had spent the morning with her mom, and I’d monopolized her afternoon. I’d given her the opal I’d fashioned into a necklace, slipping it around her neck. She’d wanted me to wear it, but that wasn’t going down.

We’d just lain together, both of us awake. Nothing like last night…or this morning, but I really couldn’t think about that at this moment.

Right now, Kat was inside her house. She’d be out in minutes, along with Ash and Dee, because we needed to hit the road.

“Andrew is staying behind this time, at the farm. He’ll be waiting with Ash and Dee,” Matthew explained. “But since he’s been working on and off with the onyx, he should be able to come in in case…”

In case shit went bad, which was why I wanted to talk to them before we headed out. “I need a promise from each of you,” I said, meeting Matthew’s and Dawson’s gazes.

Matthew sighed as he leaned against my SUV. “Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you’re about to say?”

“You’re not.” I folded my arms. “If things start to go bad there tonight, no matter what, I want both of you to promise me you will get Kat out of there.”

The older Luxen’s brows flew up. “Daemon—”

“I know you’re going to be focused on Bethany. I get that,” I said to Dawson. “But please, I’m begging both of you, if something happens, I want you focused on Kat. Not me.”

My brother stared at me for a long moment, and then he nodded. “I feel ya.”

I knew he did, because he got it.

Matthew cursed under his breath as he looked away, eyeing the woods. “I’m not okay with this.”

“Matt—”

“Let me finish,” he said, flipping his crystalline gaze to mine. “I don’t like this—this whole idea that somehow I’ll have to pick between you and Katy. I don’t even want to think of that happening.”

“Me neither,” I assured him. “And I don’t think that’s going to happen, but if shit starts to go bad, I want you to get her out of there. No matter what. I want to make sure we all have her back. She can hold her own, but I want…”

“You want us to protect her.” Dawson clapped his hand on my shoulder. “We understand.” He looked over at Matthew. “And we will do that.”

Placing his hands on his hips, he nodded after a moment. I exhaled roughly, relieved. “Thank you.”

Matthew dipped his chin. “Please don’t thank us for this.”

“None of this will probably be needed,” Dawson reasoned, running his hand through his hair.

I hoped so. Turning to the porch, my chest clenched as Kat stepped out, dressed in black leggings and a matching shirt. She smiled when she saw me, her gray eyes lighting up.

Damn, I really hoped so.

We arrived at the farm at the base of the darken access road with a few minutes to spare. Like before, we’d taken two SUVs, and when we all climbed out, Blake got the text from Luc.

Then it was go.

We raced up the mountain again, nearing the gate, and I was the one who took out the guard this time. Tense, I approached the gate and entered the first code. Icarus. No problem. Racing across the lawn, we headed straight for the three doors.

This was the first big one. Kat would make it through the doors because she had the opal—we believed—but the rest of us? There was no guarantee the training was going to work. Working with the onyx in an attempt to be able to walk through the doors had been a theory—a theory held together with duct tape and a Hail Mary.

I glanced over at Kat. The necklace was under her shirt, the opal against her skin.

My brother keyed in the word “labyrinth.”

The door slid open with an airlock sound, and I stepped forward, being the first one through. Air puffed, and I felt it. Instead of it dropping me to the ground, it was like standing too close to an open flame. I forced one leg in front of the other and then I was on the other side, standing in the wide hallway highlighted in orange. Looking over my shoulder, I smiled.

Matthew exhaled roughly. It had worked.

Dawson and Blake followed Matthew and Kat through the onyx-protected doors. She stuck close to me as Blake, who’d been here before, moved out in front of the pack. He led the way. The hall was shadowed, lit every twenty feet or so by small wall lamps. I kept an eye out for the emergency doors he’d mentioned before, the ones that could supposedly cut us into bite-size pieces.

“Onyx,” Blake whispered, catching Kat staring at the shiny ceiling. “The whole place is covered in onyx.”

God, what a lovely addition.

The tunnel split into a crossroads with elevators in the middle. Matthew inched toward the opening, checking out the space first. “Clear,” he said.

Silent, we filed into the elevator. I checked on Dawson. Razor-edge determination was set in his jaw. Kat was looking at the ceiling again, and I noticed it was also outfitted with onyx.

Reaching between us, I found her hand and squeezed. I could feel her heart racing. She looked up at me, and I winked. She shook her head. We were almost there. The elevator came to a smooth stop and the doors opened, revealing a waiting room—a white waiting room. Everything was white—walls, ceiling, floors.

“Lovely decorative colors,” Matthew muttered.

I smirked, but it quickly faded as Dawson moved ahead of us, approaching the third and final door. “Careful, brother. We take this slow.”

Dawson nodded. “I’ve never been here. Blake?”

Blake moved to his side. “Should be another tunnel, shorter and wider, and there’ll be doors on the right side. Cells—really, outfitted with a bed, a TV, and a bathroom. There’ll be about twenty rooms. I don’t know if the others are occupied or not.”

Others?

Kat looked at me sharply. “We can’t just leave them.”

Before I could answer, Blake intervened. “We don’t have time, Katy. Taking too many will slow us down, and we don’t know what kind of condition they are in.”

“But—”

“For once, I agree with Blake.” I met her shocked stare, and I hated myself for this. “We can’t, Kitten. Not now.”

Kat pressed her lips together, and I knew she wasn’t okay with this, but we didn’t have the time, and we hadn’t planned for rescuing more than Chris and Beth.

Blake keyed in the last code: Daedalus.

The sound of several locks sucking back into place broke the silence, and a light at the top of the door, on the right, flashed green. I moved in front of Kat as Blake inched the door open, and Matthew had done as I’d asked, blocked her from behind.

“We’re clear,” Blake said, sounding relieved.

We went through the door, discovering another onyx shield. Now we had two to get the others through. This wasn’t going to be easy. The tunnel was like the one above, but it was all white and much shorter, wider.

We were here.

My gaze tracked my brother as Blake called out before rushing down the hall, toward the last of the cells. “The third cell is hers.”

Dawson spun around as Kat and I moved close to him. He reached for the onyx-coated door handle. There was a flicker of pain across his stoic face, but the door opened, and my brother… My brother started trembling. His entire body shook as he croaked out one word, “Beth?”

I saw her then, a slender girl sitting on a narrow bed, and she looked like I had remembered—brown hair tucked back in a smooth ponytail and her elfin face pale. The moment recognition flared in her eyes, the second her gaze locked with my brother’s, I wanted to whoop with relief.

Dawson staggered forward, hands opening and closing at his sides, and all he could say was her name over and over.

She scrambled forward, her gaze darting all around, but then hitting him and staying.

“Dawson? Is that… I don’t understand.”

They moved at the same time, coming together in a rush. Their arms went around each other. Dawson lifted her up as he buried his face in her neck. When he kissed her, I shifted my gaze, wanting to give them the privacy we really couldn’t afford, but seeing them together, clinging to each other, got me right in the gut.

Dawson and Beth loved each other, and I had been an asshole to not support them since the beginning.

But we needed to get out of here.

“Dawson,” I said quietly.

My brother pulled away from Beth as he grabbed her arms, and the moment her mouth wasn’t occupied with Dawson’s, she started asking questions. “What are you guys doing? How did you all get in here? Do they know?”

Dawson was grinning like his face was going to split into two. “Later,” he said. “But we have to go through two doors and it’s going to hurt—”

“Onyx shields, I know,” Beth said.

Whelp. Douche Bag had been correct. Speaking of him, I frowned as I saw him coming up the hall, carrying the prone body of a dark-haired Luxen boy. “Is he okay?”

Blake nodded, but he was pale and tense. “I…he didn’t recognize me. I had to keep him quiet.”

Kat hastily looked away, and I knew despite all the crap Blake had done, she felt bad for him in this instance. Hell, who wouldn’t?

Beth turned toward Blake. “You can’t—”

“We need to go.” Blake cut her off and prowled past us. “We’re almost out of time.”

Beth was shaking her head vigorously. “But—”

“We need to go, Beth. We know.” Dawson kissed her quickly, and she nodded, but the panic was building in the wide hall, threatening to infect us all.

Urgency kicked adrenaline into high gear, and without any more delay, the five of us took off down the hall. Skidding to a stop, I punched the code into panel on the wall, and the door opened.

I jerked.

Simon Cutters was standing in the waiting room, so obviously not dead. Everyone stumbled to a halt behind me.

“Oh shit,” I said.

Simon smiled. “Missed me? I missed you guys.”

Then he raised an arm. Light reflected off a metal cuff he wore, with, of course, a piece of opal embedded into it. He opened his hand and let loose a damn hurricane of wind. All of us were lifted up off our feet. Kat was thrown back, smacking into the nearest door. Dawson whirled, forcing Beth against the wall, taking the brunt of the gale-force winds. Matthew hit the wall, and my legs were knocked right out from under me. I skidded several feet down the hall.

Damn.

Someone was now a souped-up hybrid, and I had no idea how that happened, but there wasn’t any time to play ask and answer.

I picked myself up, quickly looking for Kat. She was standing with Blake’s help, favoring one leg over the other. I didn’t see what Blake had done with the passed-out Chris.

Anger turned my blood to lava. “Oh, you are so dead.”

“Ah, I think that’s my line,” Simon responded, letting out a burst of energy.

“Daemon!” Kat shouted.

Spinning out to the side, I avoided a direct hit. Immediately, I summoned the Source and reared back. Energy arced across the room, a whitish-red light.

“You’re going to wear yourself out, Luxen,” Simon sneered, dodging my hit.

I smirked. “Then so will you.”

Simon winked and then spun toward Kat, throwing his hand out again. She and Blake skidded back. I shot around Simon as Blake caught Kat with arm around her chest. Appearing in front of them, I shoved Kat behind me.

“This is so not good,” Blake said, edging closer to Simon. “We’re running out of time.”

“No shit,” I spat.

Dawson shot toward Simon, but he threw him back, laughing. Another blast of energy flew at Blake and then toward Matthew. Both of them dive-bombed the floor to avoid taking a hit, and Simon kept advancing, smiling like a psycho.

Simon darted to one side, focusing on Kat. “Want to play, Kitty Kat?”

Aaand I was so done with this.

“Oh, screw this,” I growled.

Striking like a cobra, I shot past Blake and Matthew and within a second I was directly in front of Simon. The hybrid lifted his arms. I could feel the Source roaring through him as I placed my hands on either side of his head and twisted.

A crack echoed through the room, and Simon hit the floor.

Stepping back, I exhaled roughly as I closed my hands. “I never liked that punk in the first place.”

Kat stumbled to the side as I turned around. “He’s…he was…”

“We don’t have time.” Dawson pulled Beth toward the elevators. “They have to know we’re here.”

Blake scooped Chris up, casting a look at Simon as he passed the prone body. He said nothing as I threaded my fingers through Kat’s. “Are you okay? You took a nasty hit.”

“I’m okay. You?”

I nodded, not letting myself think about the fact that I’d just broken Simon’s neck. Granted, he was trying to kill us, and he hadn’t understood the concept of no, but still, it was another life that was on my hands.

“Come on.” Matthew slipped into the elevator, his face pale. “We need to prepare for anything once these doors are open.”

I nodded. “How is everyone?”

“Not feeling very good,” Dawson answered, his free hand open and closing. “It’s the damn onyx. I don’t know how much is left in me.”

“What the hell was up with Simon?” I turned on Blake as the elevator pitched into motion. “He barely seemed affected by the onyx.”

Blake shook his head. “I don’t know, man. I don’t know.”

What in the hell was up with that? Was it because of the opal? Had to be. There was really no time to think about that. I could feel the dread pouring off Kat, and that was my number one concern. I needed her to keep it together.

“It’s going to be okay. We’re almost out of here. We got this.” I smiled, and that damn organ in my chest actually squeezed when I saw her lips curve in response. “I promise, Kitten.”

It was a promise I’d go down to keep.

“Time?” Blake asked.

Matthew glanced at his wrist. “Two minutes.”

Aw, man, this shit was making me anxious. Two minutes. The doors slid open with a pop, and thank God, the hallway was empty.

Blake was out first, carrying Chris. Then Matthew, quickly followed by Dawson and Beth. As planned, Kat and I were the last to leave. “Stay behind me,” I told her, keeping my hand wrapped firmly around hers.

She nodded as we raced forward, slowing only when Blake shifted the unconscious Luxen to his shoulder and banged in the code. The door opened, and the darkness from the night beyond seeped in.

Blake stepped out and then paused. He looked over his shoulder. Not at me. At Kat. My free hand formed a fist as I saw Kat reach with her other hand toward her neck. Awareness pricked at my skin, crawling up the back of my neck like an army of a thousand fire ants.

Then Blake smiled.

Shit.

He raised a hand, and a white rope dangled from his fingers. At the end was the piece of opal I’d given to Kat. “Sorry. It had to be this way.”

Rage exploded inside me like a bottle rocket.

“Son of a bitch!” I shouted as I dropped Kat’s hand and shot forward. That was it. I was going to kill him dead.

I’d made it halfway when I felt the shiver of coldness skating over my skin. I skidded to a halt, snapping in fury.

Arum.

The shadows around that asshole deepened and spread out, slipping into the entrance and stretching over the walls and ceiling like a damn fungus straight from hell. The shadows dropped as lights exploded in a shower of sparks.

Seven of the bastards formed and then stepped right past Blake and the Luxen he carried, walked right past him.

And then Blake was gone.

Fury burned inside me like a volcano erupting. This was not happening. This was not fucking happening.

I met the first Arum that charged forward. Shoving my hand into the Arum’s chest, I slammed it back into the wall just as Dawson pushed Bethany to the side and took down the other Arum.