Oblivion

The moment I stepped into the house, I smelled something weird and burned. Frowning, I headed into the kitchen. Dee was hovering over a baking sheet. There was another on the kitchen counter. Dark, burned specks covered that sheet. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“Baking pumpkin seeds,” she replied, brow furrowing as she placed her hands over the sheet.

“You know, you could just use the oven.”

“What fun is that?” She twisted toward me, eyes narrowing. “You need to leave.”

“Excuse me?”

“You need to leave,” she repeated. “Kat is on her way over here. We’re going to watch a bunch of stupid horror movies.”

Leaning against the counter, I poked at one of the charred pumpkin seeds. “Sounds like fun.”

“It’s going to be a ton of fun, but you need to go. I don’t know what went down between you two.”

“Nothing,” I murmured, glancing at the window beyond the kitchen table.

Dee snorted. “Yeah, that’s what she said, and I don’t believe her. I don’t believe you, and whatever happened made her avoid me for days. So I don’t want you here, because you will ruin the night.”

“Ouch.” I placed my hand over my chest and faked a wince.

Dee shoved me. “Whatever. Go hang out with Adam.”

I was planning to do that already. Adam and Andrew wanted to see if they could lure Baruck out, but there was an irresponsible part of me that wanted to stay here until Kat showed up. I wanted to see her even though I knew she was going to ignore me, but after what I’d done, that took dickdom to a whole new level.

Pushing off the counter, I dropped a kiss atop Dee’s head. “I’ll be with Adam and Andrew. We’re going to try to lure the Arum out.”

Fear flickered across Dee’s face, and then she steadied herself. “Be careful.”

“Always,” I replied.

Eyeing the baking sheets one more time, I hoped she didn’t try to make Kat eat any of them. Yikes. Snagging my keys off the counter, I headed out and met up with Adam and Andrew in the parking lot of Smoke Hole Diner. They’d come the fastest way possible.

Andrew swaggered up to the driver’s door. “What’s the plan? Same as the last couple of nights?”

I glanced at Adam, who hung back a few feet. “Yep. Light up in the woods closest to the roads. Run away and see if you can draw them out. I’ll drive around and see if I can sense him.”

We’d been doing this with no such luck since Sunday, one of us taking turns doing the driving, which was by far the most tedious of assignments. I’d rather get out there in my true form than sit behind the wheel.

“I’ll head toward town,” Adam said.

Andrew shot his brother a look. “I guess I’ll go away from it.”

Smirking, I shook my head as I pulled out of the parking lot. The streets were still pretty busy. Parents taking their kids back to their homes after trick or treating in town. Others were on their way to parties. At a red light, I saw a Ninja Turtle in the driver’s seat of a car next to me.

Heh.

I cruised up and down the highway, circling back through town a couple of times and killing almost two hours before my cell rang. It was Adam.

“Talk to me,” I said.

“We spotted him.” Adam was breathing heavily. “Baruck. He’s heading toward the colony. Andrew is coming, but I’ve lost track of him.”

“Shit.” Glancing up in the rearview mirror, I saw the road was empty behind me. I yanked the wheel to the right, spinning the SUV around. Tires spun out on the gravel along the road as I hit the gas. “Get there now.”

“On it.”

Hanging up on Adam, I immediately dialed Dee. She answered on the third ring, exasperation dripping from her tone. “This better be good, Daemon, because—”

“Baruck has been spotted. He’s heading toward the colony.”

“What do you mean?” she said.

My hand tightened on the phone. “He’s going toward the colony and he’s going to pass right by our house. We’re on our way. Is Kat still with you?”

“Katy is with me, but her trace is barely noticeable!”

I hit the gas pedal to the floor. “It still can be seen. Just stay inside, Dee. Keep her there.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Be careful. I love you.”

Fury roared through me. The son of a bitch probably had no idea how close he was actually getting to the colony or to where Dee and Kat were. With the beta quartz so close by, it would throw him off, but it was too close for comfort. I needed to ditch the wheels, but I was too close to town and too many cars were around to do it without drawing attention. Andrew and Adam were fast. They’d get there before—

My cell went off again, this time from Dee. A knot formed in my gut as I answered it. “What?”

“It’s Katy,” she said, voice shaking. “She made me trace her—”

“What?” I hit the brakes, nearly causing the van behind us to rear end. “She did what ?”

“She made me trace her and then she left, trying to draw the Arum away from here. She’s going where the field party was. Daemon, she’s glowing .”

My heart lodged in my throat. Fury and horror slammed into me like a punch to the chest. I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle my sister. How could she let Kat do this? But there wasn’t time to yell at her. That would definitely come later. My head started working quickly. “Get in touch with Adam and Andrew, but text me her number now.”