Opal

Chapter 28

The search party was just like the ones I’d seen on TV and in movies. People milled through fields in a direct, horizontal line behind the policemen and their search dogs. Everything was a clue to the inexperienced—a disturbed pile of leaves; a torn, old piece of clothing; faded footprints.

It was a sad affair.

Mainly because there was so much hope—hope that Carissa would be found, that she would be okay if not a little worse for wear, and everything would go back to normal. She wouldn’t be the latest missing person’s case, because her situation was different. She seemingly walked out of a hospital.

However, I had a hard time believing that.

Will had been an implant in the local medical center, and I didn’t have to be an investigator to figure out that he wasn’t the only one. My guess was Carissa had help leaving that hospital.

Daemon and I left after five, heading back to our houses. I went inside to get changed for our “date night.” I wasn’t going all out like I did last time. I settled on a pair of skinny jeans, heels, and an Lesa-approved skintight sweater that flashed a little bit of stomach.

Mom was in the kitchen making an omelet. My eyes bugged as I tugged the hem of my sweater down. She glanced over her shoulder, tossing the eggs and missing most of the frying pan.

She took Hell’s Kitchen to a new extreme.

“Are you going out tonight with Daemon?”

“Yeah,” I said, grabbing a paper towel. I scooped up the eggs before the burnt smell could reach my gag reflex. “We’re going to do dinner and then a movie.”

“Remember your curfew. It’s a school night.”

“I know.” I threw the towel away and held onto my sweater with one hand. “Did you hear about Carissa?”

Mom nodded. “I wasn’t working at Grant when she was admitted or for the last two days, but the hospital is crawling with police and the heads are doing their own investigations.”

She’d been pulling her shifts in Winchester. “So, they think she really just walked out of there?”

“From what I hear, she was being treated for meningitis and that can come along with a high fever. People do strange things when they are that sick. It’s why I was so worried about you when you got sick in November.” She turned off the stove. “But there is no excuse for what happened. Someone should’ve stopped the poor girl. Those night-shift nurses will have a lot of explaining to do. Without meds, Carissa…” She clamped up, focusing on dumping the eggs onto her plate. A few pieces splattered across the floor. I sighed. “Honey, they’ll find Carissa.”

No, they won’t, I wanted to rage.

“She couldn’t have gone far,” Mom continued as I picked up the yellow clumps stuffed with peppers and onions. “And those nurses won’t allow something as careless as this to happen again.”

I doubted it was an act of carelessness. They probably turned their cheek or helped. The desire to get even or at least walk into that hospital and smack a bunch of people in their faces was almost too hard to ignore.

Saying good-bye to Mom and promising not to stay out past curfew, I kissed her cheek and then grabbed my sweater jacket and purse. Daemon was alone next door. Everyone was down by the lake, either putting themselves through untold pain or watching it.

He swaggered up to me, his eyes dropping right to the tiny flash of skin…and something moved over his face. “I like this better than the other outfit.”

“Really?” I felt exposed when he looked at me like he was staring at a piece of art commissioned just for him. “I thought you liked the skirt.”

“I do, but this…?” He tugged on my belt loop and made a deep sound in the back of his throat. “I really like this.”

A dizzying warmth swept through me, making my knees weak.

Shaking his head, he dropped his hand and pulled his keys out of his pocket. “We need to get going. You hungry? You didn’t eat any lunch.”

It took me a moment to collect myself. “I could do a Happy Meal.”

He laughed as we headed outside. “A Happy Meal?”

“What’s wrong with that?” I tugged my sweater coat on. “It’s perfect.”

“It’s the toy, isn’t it?”

I grinned as I stopped at the passenger side. “The boys get better toys.”

Daemon turned suddenly, placing his hands on my hips and lifting me against him. Startled, I dropped my purse as I groped his arms.

“What—?”

He silenced me with a kiss that reached a deep place inside that both thrilled and frightened me. When he kissed me, it was like he was reaching for my soul.

Funny thing was, he already had that and my heart in his hands.

Slowly, he let me slide down him and placed me on my feet. Dazed, I stared up at him. “What was that for?”

“You smiled.” His fingers trailed along my cheek, then down my throat. He buttoned up my sweater quickly. “You haven’t been smiling much. I missed it, so I decided to reward you for doing it.”

“Reward me?” I laughed. “God, only you would think kissing someone is a reward.”

“You know it is. My lips change lives, baby.” Daemon bent, grabbing my purse off the ground. “Ready?”

Taking the purse, I hopped into his car on wobbly knees. Once beside me, he revved the engine, and we were heading into town, stopping by the local fast-food joint so I could get my Happy Meal.

He got me a boy one, too.

His dinner included three hamburgers and two orders of fries. I had no idea where those calories went. To his ego, maybe? It seemed likely after that last comment about his lips. I was hungry more often after the mutation, but not like Daemon.

On the way to Martinsburg, we started out with a game of I Spy, but Daemon cheated and I didn’t want to play anymore.

He laughed deeply, the sound pleasing. “How can I cheat at I Spy?”

“You keep picking things that no human in this world can see!” I fought back a grin at his offended expression. “Or you pick c—you keep picking c. I spy with my little eye, something that starts with a c!”

“Car,” he said, smiling. “Cat. Coat. Church.” He paused, casting me a wicked sidelong glance. “Chest.”

“Shut up.” I smacked him on the arm. A few moments of silence later, and I was desperate to find another game. This nonsense was keeping my mind blank. We moved onto the license plate game, and I swear he pulled up on cars so I couldn’t see the plates. He had a mean competitive streak.

Before we knew it, we were heading off the exit and neither of us was in the playing mood anymore. “Do you think we’ll get in?”

“Yes.”

I shot him a look. “That bouncer was really big.”

His lips quirked. “Oh, Kitten, see, I try to not say bad things.”

“What?”

The grin spread. “I would say size doesn’t matter, but it does. I would know.” He winked, and I let out a disgusted groan. He laughed. “Sorry, you walked into that one. Seriously, though, the bouncer won’t be a problem. I think he liked me.”

“W-w-what?”

He eased the SUV around the curves. “I think he liked me, like, really liked me.”

“Your ego knows no limit, you know that?”

“You’ll see. I know these kinds of things.”

From what I recalled, the bouncer looked like he wanted to kill Daemon. Shaking my head, I sat back and started nibbling on my thumbnail. Gross habit, but nerves were getting the best of me.

The abandoned gas station loomed up ahead. The SUV bumped over the uneven road and I gripped the door handle. Cars lined the field in front of the club, as expected. Once again, Daemon parked Dolly far away from other cars.

I knew to get rid of my sweater this time around. I wrapped it around my purse and sat it on the floorboard. We made our way around the cars. Stopping at the first row, I bent over and tossed my hair over my head, shaking it out.

“This reminds me of a Whitesnake video,” Daemon said.

“Huh?” I ran my hands through my hair, hoping for the sexy look and not the “I had my head out of the car” look.

“If you start climbing on car hoods, I think I might marry you.”

I rolled my eyes and straightened, giving my head one more shake. “Done.”

He stared at me. “You’re cute.”

“You’re weird.” I rose up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before I teetered through the knee-high grass. Heels—so not a good idea.

The lumberjack bouncer appeared out of nowhere, still in those overalls. Barrel-sized arms folded across his chest. “I thought I told ya two to forget this place?”

Daemon moved in front of me. “We need to see Luc.”

“I need a lot of things in life. Like I wish I could find a decent stock trader who wouldn’t lose half of my money.”

Oookay. I cleared my throat. “We won’t be here long, but please, we really need to see him.”

“Sorry,” the bouncer said.

Daemon tipped his head to the side. “There’s got to be something we can do to convince you.”

Oh, man, please tell me he wasn’t…

The bouncer raised a brow and waited.

Daemon smiled—that sexy quirk of his lips that had every girl at school stumbling over themselves, and I…I wanted to crawl under a car.

Before I could die from embarrassment, the bouncer’s cell went off, and he pulled it out of his front pocket. “What’s up?”

I took the moment to elbow Daemon.

“What?” he said. “It was working.”

The bouncer laughed. “I ain’t doin’ much. Just talkin’ to a douche and a pretty lady.”

“Excuse me?” Daemon said, surprised.

I choked on my laugh.

There was a toothy grin, and then the bouncer sighed. “Yep, they’re here for ya.” There was a pause. “Sure.”

He clicked the phone shut. “Luc will see you. Go in and head straight to him. No dancing tonight, or whatever it was the two of ya did last time.”

Awkward. I lowered my head and slipped past the bouncer. At the door, he stopped Daemon. I looked over my shoulder.

The bouncer winked at Daemon as he handed him what looked like a business card. “Ya not normally my type, but I can make an exception.”

My mouth dropped open.

Daemon took the card with a smile and then opened the door. “Told you,” he said to me.

I refused to give him the benefit of a response, instead focusing on the club. Nothing had changed from the last time. The dance floor was packed. Accompanied cages hung from the ceiling, swaying from the movements inside. People grinded to the heavy beat. A different, strange world tucked away in the epicenter of normalcy.

And the place was still alluring to me in a weird way.

Down the shadowy hallway, a tall man waited at the door for us. Paris—the blond Luxen we’d met last time. He nodded at Daemon, opened the door, and then stepped aside.

I expected to see Luc sprawled on the couch, playing DS like last time, so I was shocked when I discovered him at the desk, pecking away at a laptop, his face screwed in concentration.

The stacks of hundreds were gone.

Luc didn’t look up. “Please sit.” He waved at the nearby couch, all businesslike.

Glancing at Daemon, I moved with him to the couch and sat. In the corner, a tall yellow candle spread a peaches scent throughout the room. That was all the decoration. Did the door behind the desk lead to another room? Did Luc live here?

“Heard you guys didn’t get very far at Mount Weather last time.” He closed the laptop and folded his hands under his chin.

“About that,” Daemon said, leaning forward. “You didn’t know about the onyx shields?”

The boy, the little mini mogul/mafia kingpin/whatever he was became very still. Tension filled the room. I waited for something to blow up. Hopefully not one of us.

“I warned you that there may be things I’m unaware of,” he said. “Even I don’t know everything about Daedalus. But I think Blake’s on the right track. He is right about everything being encased in a shiny blackish-red material. Perhaps we did build a tolerance so we were not affected by the onyx shields.”

“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.”

I remembered Daemon trying to explain this before. “And onyx disrupts those wavelengths of light, right? Kind of makes them bounce around and go crazy.”

Luc nodded. “Opal’s ability to refract allows a Luxen or a hybrid to be more powerful—it enhances our ability to refract light.”

“And the reflection part—wow.” Awed, Daemon grinned.

I got the whole refraction thing. Sure, super speed, ability to pull on the Source more easily, and probably a slew of other benefits, but reflection? I waited.

Daemon nudged me with his elbow. “We flicker or fade sometimes because we move fast. And sometimes you see us fade in and out—it’s just reflection. Something all of us have to work at to control when we’re younger.”

“And it’s hard when you’re excited or upset?”

He nodded. “Among other things, but to control reflection?” He fixed on Luc. “Are you saying you can do what I think you can?”

Laughing, Luc hooked the bracelet around his wrist and sat back, dropping his legs on the desk again. “Hybrids are good. We can move faster than humans, but with the obesity rates nowadays, turtles can move faster than most humans. Sometimes we’re even stronger than the average Luxen when it comes to the Source—it’s the mixture of human and alien DNA that can create something powerful, but that’s not standard.” A self-fulfilled smile stretched Luc’s lips. “But give a Luxen one of these, and they can completely reflect light.”

My heart skipped a beat. “You mean…like, invisible?”

“So cool,” Daemon said, staring at the stone. “We can change the way we look, but become invisible? Yeah, that’s new.”

Confounded, I shook my head. “Can we be invisible?”

“No. Our human DNA gets in the way of that, but it makes us just as powerful as the strongest Luxen and then some.” He wiggled a little in his seat. “So you can imagine that they wouldn’t want any of us having these…especially one that hasn’t been proven to be stable, unless…”

A cold breath of air shot over my neck. “Unless what?”

Some of the enthusiasm faded from his face. “Unless they didn’t care what kind of damage the hybrid caused. Maybe your friend was a test run for a bigger incident.”

“What?” Daemon tensed. “You think they did this on purpose? Hooked up an unstable hybrid and sent her out into the wild to see what happens?”

“Paris thinks I’m a conspiracy theorist with a hint of schizophrenic paranoia.” He shrugged. “But you can’t tell me that Daedalus doesn’t have a master plan up their sleeves. I wouldn’t put a single thing past them.”

“But why would she come after me? Blake says they don’t know the mutation held. So it wasn’t like they’d send her after me.” I paused. “And, well, that’s if Blake’s telling the truth.”

“I’m sure he is about the mutation,” Luc responded. “If he wasn’t, you wouldn’t be sitting here. See, I’m not sure even Daedalus knows everything that this stone is capable of and how it affects us. I’m still learning.”

“And what have you learned?” Daemon asked.

“For starters, before I got my grubby paws on one of these, I couldn’t pick out another hybrid if one did a jig in front of me. I knew the moment you and Blake arrived in Martinsburg, Katy. It was weird, like a breath washing over my entire body. Your friend probably sensed you. That’s the least terrible probability.”

Daemon blew out a long breath and then looked away for a moment. “Do you know if it can enhance the Arum’s abilities?”

“I imagine it could if they were bloated on a Luxen’s powers.”

Overwhelmed, I sat back and then shot forward. “Do you think the opal can, like, counteract the onyx?”

“It’s possible, but I don’t know. Haven’t hugged any onyx recently.”

I ignored the sarcastic tone. “Where can we get some of the opal?”

Luc laughed and I wanted to kick his legs off the desk. “Unless you have about thirty thousand dollars lying around and know someone who mines opals, or you want to ask Daedalus for some, you’re out of luck. And I’m not giving you mine.”

My shoulders slumped. Yippee, another dead end. We couldn’t catch a break if it slapped us upside the face.

“Anyway, it’s about time for you guys to hit the road.” He tipped his head back, closing his eyes. “I’m assuming I won’t hear from you two again until you’re ready to go to Mount Weather?”

Ah, we’d been dismissed. As I stood, I debated on bum-rushing Luc and grabbing his bracelet. The way his eyes opened into thin slits warned me to forget that idea.

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” Daemon prodded.

“Sure, I have something else.” Luc lifted those long lashes. “You really shouldn’t trust a soul in this game. Not when everyone has something to gain or lose.”