Oblivion

I turned back around, eyeing him. “What do you mean?”

“They want people like Katy. They don’t give two shits about the aliens. They want us.”

Kat gaped at him. “What?”

“You need to explain that a lot better,” I ordered as static built in the tiny car.

He leaned forward. “Do you really think the DOD doesn’t know what both the Arum and Luxen are capable of, that after studying your kind for decades and decades that they don’t know what they’re dealing with? And if you really believe not, then you’re stupid or naive.”

Kat jolted in the seat.

No way. There was no way. “If the DOD knew about our abilities, they wouldn’t let us live free. They’d have us locked up in a heartbeat.”

“Really? The DOD knows the Luxen are a peaceful race and they know the Arum aren’t the same as your kind. Having the Luxen free takes care of the Arum alien problem. Besides, don’t they get rid of any Luxen who causes a problem?” He jerked back as I started for him, but Kat grabbed ahold of my shirt. He lifted his hands. “Look, all I’m saying is there are bigger fish the DOD wants. And that’s the humans the Luxen mutate. We’re just as strong as you—even stronger in some cases. The only thing is, we tire out a lot quicker and it takes us longer to recharge, so to speak.”

I settled back, my hands clenching and unclenching.

“The only reason why the DOD lets you believe that your big bad secret is hidden is because they know what you can do to humans,” he explained. “And we’re what they care about.”

“No,” she whispered. “Why would they care about us instead of them?”

“Gee, Katy, why would the government be interested in a bunch of humans who have more powers than the very creatures who created us? I don’t know. Maybe because they’d have a superhuman army at their disposal or a group of people who can get rid of the aliens if need be?”

I swore under my breath, because as much as I hated it, what this boy was saying made sense. Made too much damn sense.

“But how…how are you stronger than the Luxen?” Kat asked.

“That’s a good question.” I stared into the backseat.

“In the diner, when I knew the guy was going to skip out on his meal? It’s because I could pick up on bits of his thoughts. Not all of them, but enough to know what he was pla

“Mutated?” Her voice rose.

“You’re mutated. Tell me, have you been sick recently? Had a really high fever?”

Dammit.

“I can tell by your expression you have. Let me guess, you had a fever so bad that it felt like your entire body was on fire? Lasted a couple of days and then you felt fine—better than ever?” He turned to the window again, shaking his head. “And now you can move things without touching them? Probably have no control. The table shaking inside wasn’t me. It was you. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Soon you’ll be able to do a hell of a lot more, and if you don’t get control of it, it’s going to be really bad. This damn place is swarming with DOD, hidden in plain sight. And they’re here looking for hybrids. Far as I know, the Luxen don’t typically heal humans, but it happens.” He glanced at me. “Obviously.”

Kat tucked her hair back with shaky hands. “Then why are you here if it’s such a risk now?”

“You,” he said. “Honestly, I thought about not coming back. Moving on, but there’s my uncle…and you. There’re not many like us who haven’t been caught by the DOD. You need to know what kind of danger you’re in.”

“But you don’t even know me,” she argued.

“And we don’t know you,” I added, eyes narrowed.

He shrugged. “I like you. Not you, Daemon.” He smiled. “But Katy.”

“I really, really do not like you at all.”

Kat pressed a hand to her chest. “Blake…”

“That wasn’t said to make you say you like me or not. I’m just stating the fact. I like you.” He glanced at her. “And you don’t know what you’ve stepped in. I can help you.”

“Bullshit,” I said. “If she needs help controlling her abilities, then I can do it.”

“Can you? What you do is second nature to you. Not to Katy. I had to learn how to rein in my abilities. I can teach her. Stabilize her.”

“Stabilize me?” Her laugh sounded a bit choked. “What’s going to happen? I’m going to explode or something?”

“You can seriously end up hurting yourself or others,” he explained. “I’ve heard things, Katy. Some mutated humans… Well, let’s just say it doesn’t end pretty.”

“You don’t need to scare her,” I said.

“I’m not trying to. It’s just the truth,” he responded. “And if the DOD finds out about you, they’re going to take you in. And if you can’t control your abilities, they will put you down.”

She gasped, facing the front of the car. I reached over, placing my hand on hers. She didn’t look at me, and I wanted to punch the douche bag in the face.

“Katy, I know this is a lot. But you have to be prepared. You leave this town, the Arum are going to be on you. That is, if you can slide by the DOD.”

“You’re right. This is a lot.” She looked up. “I thought you were normal. And you’re not. You’re telling me that I have the DOD gu

I let out a low whistle, and Blake said, “You’re never going to be normal, Katy. Never again.”

“No shit,” she snapped. Taking a deep breath, she seemed to pull it together. “What are we going to do?”

“We don’t need his help,” I said.

“But you do,” he whispered. “I heard about the window thing with Simon.”

She glanced at me, and I shook my head, willing her to be quiet, because how in the hell did he hear about that?

“What do you think will happen next time? Simon ran off, doing God knows what. You won’t get so lucky again.”

Tipping her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes. Her voice was small as she spoke. “How do you know so much about them?”

“The girl I was telling you about? She told me everything. I wanted to help her…to get away, but she wouldn’t leave. The DOD had something or someone that meant a lot to her.”

An odd chill radiated down my spine.

“Who was she?” she asked.

“Liz something,” he said. “Don’t know her last name.”

“You know,” I said, looking over the seat at him. “There’s nothing stopping me from killing you. Right now.”

“Yes, there is.” He met my stare. “There’s Katy, and the fact that I doubt you’re a cold-blooded killer.”

Sometimes, like right now, I really wished I were a cold-blooded killer, because he wouldn’t be a problem. “I don’t trust you.”

He held my gaze. “You don’t have to. Only Katy does.”

There was no way she could trust him. I looked at her, and I saw that she was actually considering it. Anger flooded me. I placed my hands on the dashboard to stop myself from choking the crap out of…whatever he was.

“When do we start?” Kat asked, and I closed my eyes.

“Tomorrow if you can,” he said.

“My mom leaves for work after five.”

“I’ll be there,” I said.

“Not necessary,” he shot back.

“And I don’t care. You aren’t doing a damn thing with Katy without me being there.” I faced him, lowering my hands to my knees. “I don’t trust you. Just so we’re clear.”

“Whatever.” He climbed out of the car, causing cold air to rush in.

“Blake,” Kat called out.

He stopped with his hand on the door. “What?”

“How did you get away from the Arum when they attacked you?” she asked.

Looking away, he squinted at the dark sky. “That’s not something I’m ready to talk about, Katy.” He shut the door and jogged off toward his car.

Kat stared out the window, and both of us sat there for several moments without saying anything, and then I opened the car door. I stepped out, shutting the door behind me. There were too many things I wanted to say to her right now, and none of them were good. I needed a few moments to myself, to calm my ass down, and maybe by the time she got home, I could have a decent conversation with her.