Origin (Lux #4)(3)
Author: J. Lynn

Khaki Beret stared down at me, and from my vantage point, I could see his entire face. He had the most startling blue eyes, and while he looked like he was so over this routine, there seemed to be some level of compassion to his stare.

Without saying a word, he bent down and scooped me up. He smelled of fresh detergent, the same kind my mom used, and tears welled in my eyes. Before I could put up a fight, which would’ve been pointless, he deposited me on the table. When he backed away, I gripped the edges of the table, feeling like I’d been here before.

And I had.

Another cup of water was given to me, which I accepted. The doctor sighed loudly. “Is fighting this out of your system now?”

I dropped the paper cup on the table and forced my tongue to move. It felt swollen and difficult to control. “I don’t want to be here.”

“Of course you don’t.” He placed the chest piece under my shirt, like he had done before. “No one in this room, or even in this building, expects that from you, but fighting us, before you even know what we’re about, is only going to hurt you in the end. Now breathe in deeply.”

I breathed in, but the air got stuck. The line of white cabinets across the room blurred. I would not cry. I would not cry.

The doctor went through the motions, checking my breathing and blood pressure before he spoke again. “Katy—may I call you Katy?”

A short, hoarse laugh escaped me. So polite. “Sure.”

He smiled as he placed the pressure cuff on the table and then stepped back, folding his arms. “I need to do a full exam, Katy. I promise it will not hurt. It will be like any other physical exam you’ve had before.”

Fear balled in my core. I folded my arms around my waist, shivering. “I don’t want that.”

“We can postpone it for a little bit, but it must be done.” Turning, he walked over to one of the cabinets and retrieved a dark brown blanket. Returning to the table, he draped it over my bent shoulders. “Once you regain your strength, we’re going to move you to your quarters. There you will be able to wash up and get into fresh, clean clothes. There’s also a TV if you want to watch, or you can rest. It’s pretty late, and you have a big day tomorrow.”

I held the blanket close, shaking. He made it sound like I was at a hotel. “Big day tomorrow?”

He nodded. “There is a lot we need to show you. Hopefully, then you’ll understand what Daedalus is truly about.”

I fought the urge to laugh again. “I know what you guys are about. I know what—”

“You know only what you’ve been told,” the doctor interrupted. “And what you do know is only half true.” He cocked his head to the side. “I know you’re thinking of Dawson and Bethany. You don’t know the whole story behind them.”

My eyes narrowed, and the answering rush of anger warmed my insides. How dare he put what Daedalus did to Bethany and Dawson back on them? “I know enough.”

Dr. Roth glanced at Green Beret by the controls, and then he nodded. Green Beret quietly exited the room, leaving the doctor and Khaki Beret behind. “Katy—”

“I know you basically tortured them,” I cut in, growing more furious by the second. “I know you brought people in here and forced Dawson to heal them, and when that didn’t work, those humans died. I know you kept them away from each other and used Beth to get Dawson to do what you wanted. You’re worse than evil.”

“You don’t know the whole story,” he repeated evenly, completely unfazed by my accusations. He looked at Khaki Beret. “Archer, you were here when Bethany and Dawson were brought in?”

I turned to Archer, and he nodded. “When the subjects were brought in, both were understandably difficult to deal with, but after the female had gone through the mutation, she was even more violent. They were allowed to stay together until it became obvious there was a safety issue. That was why they were separated and eventually moved to different locations.”

I shook my head as I pulled the blanket closer. I wanted to yell at them at the top of my lungs. “I’m not stupid.”

“I don’t think you are,” the doctor answered. “Hybrids are notoriously unbalanced, even the ones who have mutated successfully. Beth was and is unstable.”

Knots formed in my belly. I could easily remember how crazy Beth had been at Vaughn’s house. She had seemed fine when we found her at Mount Weather, but she hadn’t always been that way. Were Dawson and everyone in danger? Could I even believe anything these people were telling me?

“That’s why I need to do a full exam, Katy.”

I looked at the doctor. “Are you saying I’m unstable?”

He didn’t respond immediately, and it felt like the table had dropped out from underneath me.

“There is a chance,” he said. “Even with successful mutations, there is an instability issue that arises when the hybrid uses the Source.”

Clenching the blanket until the feeling came back in my knuckles, I willed my heart to slow down. It wasn’t working. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe anything you’re saying. Dawson was—”

“Dawson was a sad case,” he said, cutting me off. “And you will come to understand that. What happened with Dawson was unintentional. He would’ve been released eventually, once we were sure he could assimilate again. And Beth—”

“Just stop,” I snarled, and my own voice surprised me. “I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”

“You have no idea, Miss Swartz, how dangerous the Luxen are and the threat those who have been mutated by them pose.”

“The Luxen aren’t dangerous! And the hybrids wouldn’t be, either, if you left us alone. We haven’t done anything to you. We wouldn’t have. We weren’t doing anything until you—”

“Do you know why the Luxen came to Earth?” he asked.

“Yes.” My knuckles ached. “The Arum destroyed their planet.”

“Do you know why their planet was destroyed? Or the origins of the Arum?”

“They were at war. The Arum were trying to take their abilities and kill them.” I was totally up to date on my Alien 101. The Arum were the opposite of the Luxen, more shadow than light, and they fed off the Luxen. “And you’re working with those monsters.”

Dr. Roth shook his head. “Like with any great war, the Arum and Luxen have been fighting for so long that I doubt many of them even know what sparked the battle.”

“So are you trying to say that the Arum and the Luxen are like the intergalactic Gaza Strip?”

Archer snorted at that.

“I don’t even know why we’re talking about this,” I said, suddenly so tired I wasn’t sure I could think straight. “None of that matters.”

“It does matter,” the doctor said. “It goes to show how very little you truly know about any of this.”

“Well, I guess you’re going to educate me?”

He smiled, and I wanted to knock the condescending look off his face. Too bad that would require my letting go of the blanket and mustering up the energy to do so. “During their prime, the Luxen were the most powerful and intelligent life-form in the entire universe. Just like in any set of species, evolution evolved in response, creating a natural predator—the Arum.”

I stared at the man. “What are you saying?”

He met my gaze. “The Luxen weren’t the victims in their war. They were the cause of it.”

…

Daemon

“How did you get out?” Dawson asked.

It had taken everything for me not to slam my fist into his face. I had calmed down enough that bringing the house down on its foundation was unlikely to occur. Still a possibility, though.

“Better question is how many did I lay out to get here?” I tensed, waiting. Dawson blocked the doorway. “Don’t fight me on any of this, brother. You won’t be able to stop me, and you know it.”

He held my gaze for a moment, then swore as he stepped aside. I slid past him, my eyes going to the staircase.

“Dee’s asleep,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Daemon—”

“Where’s Beth?”

“Here,” came a soft voice from the dining room.

I turned around and, hell, it was like the girl materialized out of smoke and shadows. I’d forgotten how much of a tiny thing she was. Slim and elfin, with lots of brown hair and a pointy, stubborn little chin. She was a lot paler than I remembered.

“Hey there.” My beef wasn’t with her. I glanced back at my brother. “You think it’s wise to have her here?”

He went to her side, draping his arm over her shoulders. “We planned on leaving. Matthew was going to set us up in Pennsylvania, near South Mountain.”

I nodded. The mountain was rocking a decent amount of quartzite but no Luxen community that we knew of.

“But we didn’t want to leave right now,” Beth added quietly, her eyes darting around the room, not settling on anything in particular. She was dressed in one of Dawson’s T-shirts and a pair of Dee’s sweats. Both swallowed her whole. “It didn’t seem right. Someone should be here with Dee.”

“But it’s not really safe for you two,” I pointed out. “Matthew could stay with Dee.”

“We’re fine.” Dawson bent his head, pressing a kiss against Beth’s forehead before pinning me with a serious look. “You shouldn’t be out of the colony. We had you there to keep you safe. If the police see you or the—”

“The police aren’t going to see me.” That concern made sense. Since Kat and I were both presumed missing, or that we’d run away, my reappearance would raise a lot of questions. “Neither will Kat’s mom.”

He didn’t look convinced. “You’re not worried about the DOD?”

I said nothing.

He shook his head. “Shit.”

Beside him, Beth shifted her slight weight from one foot to the next. “You’re going after her, aren’t you?”

“The hell he is,” my brother cut in, and when I said nothing, he strung together so many curse words I was actually impressed. “Dammit, Daemon, out of everyone, I know what you’re feeling, but what you’re doing is insane. And seriously, how did you get out of the cabin?”

Striding forward, I brushed past him and headed for the kitchen. It was strange being back in here. Everything was the same—gray granite countertops, white appliances, the god-awful country decorations Dee had thrown up on the walls, and the heavy oak kitchen table.

I stared at the table. Like a mirage, Kat appeared, sitting on the edge. Deep pain sliced across my chest. God, I missed her, and it killed me not knowing what was really happening to her or what they were doing.

Then again, I had a good idea. I knew enough from what they’d done to Dawson and Beth, and that made me physically ill.

“Daemon?” He had followed me.

I turned from the table. “We don’t need to have this conversation, and I’m not in the mood to state the obvious. You know what I’m doing. It’s why you put me in the colony.”

“I don’t even understand how you got out. There was onyx all over that place.”

Each colony had cabins meant to keep Luxen who’d become dangerous to our kind or to humans and that the Elders didn’t want to take them to the human police.

“If there’s a will, there’s a way.” I smiled when his eyes narrowed.

“Daemon…”

“I’m here to get a few things, and then I’m gone.” I opened up the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. Taking a swig, I faced him. We were the same height, so we met eye to eye. “I mean it. Don’t push me on this.”

He flinched, but his green eyes met mine. “There’s nothing I can say that’s going to change your mind?”

“Nope.”

He stepped back, rubbing his hand down his jaw. Behind him, Beth sat in the chair, her arms wrapped around her waist, her gaze going everywhere except toward us.

Dawson leaned against the counter. “You going to make me beat you into submission?”

Beth’s head jerked up, and I laughed. “I’d like to see you try, little brother.”

“Little brother,” he scoffed, but a faint smile pulled at his lips. Relief was evident on Beth’s face. “By how many seconds?” he asked.

“Enough.” I tossed the water bottle in the garbage.

Several moments passed, and then he said, “I’ll help you.”

“Hell no.” I folded my arms. “I don’t want your help. I don’t want any of you taking part in this.”

Determination set his jaw. “Bull. You helped us. It’s too dangerous to do it on your own. So if you’re going to be stubborn and ignore the fact that you kept me on a leash, which you are, I’m not going to let you do this by yourself.”