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I took the moment to elbow Daemon.
What? he said. It was working.
The bouncer laughed. I aint 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, theyre 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 wed 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 didnt 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 didnt 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 didnt 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 Im unaware of, he said. Even I dont know everything about Daedalus. But I think Blakes 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 thats not it? I asked, hating the icy feeling slushing through my veins.
Lucs amethyst gaze was concentrated. What if its not? I have a feeling thats not going to stop you from trying again. Its a risk and everything has risks. Youre lucky you got out of there last time before anyone realized what happened. You get another chance. Most people dont.
Talking to this kid was weird, because he had the ma
But knowing all the perils ahead seems unfair? He tucked back a strand of brown hair, his angelic face impassive. Lifes not fair, babe.
Daemon stiffened beside me. Why do I have a feeling theres a lot youre not telling us?
Lucs lips formed a half smile. Anyway, you came here for a reason other than those onyx shields? Lets get to the point.
A
Thats 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 didnt give any indication you know ET didnt 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 dont know what to tell you about that. She mayve 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 dont see how youll 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. Shes no longer
Ah, Luc murmured. She did the whole spontaneous combustion thing? The look on my face mustve 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. Im afraid to ask.
Fu
All of this was good and a little disturbing to think about, but it wasnt why we were here. My friend was wearing a bracelet-
Tiffanys? he asked and smirked.
No. I smiled tightly. It was just like the one youre wearing.
Surprise rolled over Lucs 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. Youll owe me, hope you realize. But what you see here? Luc flicked a finger along the stone. Its a black opal-so rare that only a few mines can even unearth these babies. And its 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. Theres something in the composition of a black opal thats like a power booster. You know, like Mario gets when he hits a mushroom. Imagine that sound. Thats 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 dont know who discovered it. Someone in Daedalus, Im 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 dont have a degree in alien mineralogy. Geez.
Daemon patted my thigh. Its okay. Refracting and reflecting wavelengths of lights affects us, like the obsidian affects Arum and onyx affects us.
Okay, I said slowly.
Lucs 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: lets say their DNA is light. And lets 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.