Origin (17 page)

“Don’t even think about saying something dirty or trying to kiss me while you’re still in Nancy’s body.” I put a hand on his chest, holding him back.

Daemon chuckled. “You’re no fun.”

“You two need to focus on the task at hand—”

A siren went off somewhere in the building. The elevator jerked to a stop on the third floor. Lights dimmed, and then a red light flicked on in the ceiling.

“Now it’s really going to get fun,” Archer said as the elevator door opened.

In the hall, soldiers and staff rushed about, calling out orders. Archer took out the first soldier who looked our way and shouted. Daemon did the same. A soldier pulled a gun, and I lifted mine, squeezing off a round. The kickback startled me. The bullet hit the guy in the leg.

Daemon lost his hold on Nancy’s form, slipping into his own. His eyes were wide as he stared at me.

“What?” I asked. “You didn’t think I’d do it?”

“Stairwell,” Archer shouted.

“Didn’t realize you shooting a gun would be so sexy.” Daemon took my free hand. “Let’s go.”

We raced down the hallway a few feet behind Archer. Overhead lights went out, replaced by flashing red and yellow domes. Archer and Daemon were throwing blasts of energy balls like it was going out of style, causing most of the soldiers to stay back. We passed a set of elevators. Two of them opened and a handful of origins stepped out. We kept going, but I had to look back—I had to see what they were going to do. I had to
know
.

They were the perfect diversion.

Everyone’s attention was on them. One of the little boys had stopped in the middle of the hallway. He bent and picked up a fallen handgun, and I saw that his wrist was bare of the bracelet. The gun smoked and then melted, re-forming into the shape of a small ball.

The little boy giggled.

And then he spun, throwing the twisted wreck of a gun right at a soldier creeping up on him. The gun went straight through the man’s stomach.

My step faltered. Holy crap.

Had we done the right thing letting them loose? What would happen if they got out—out into the real world? The kind of damage they could render was astronomical.

Daemon’s grip on my hand tightened, pulling me back to the task at hand. I’d have time to worry about them later. Hopefully.

We rounded the corner at full speed, and I was suddenly forehead-level with a pistol, so close that I could see the finger on the trigger, see the tiny spark of it firing. A scream got stuck in my throat. Daemon roared, the sound final as it bounced around my skull.

The bullet stopped, its tip singeing my forehead. It didn’t go any farther. Just stopped. Air leaked out of my lungs.

Daemon snatched the bullet away, then yanked me to his chest as we spun, and there was Micah several feet behind us, one hand raised.

“That wasn’t very nice,” he said in that monotone child voice. “I like them.”

The soldier blanched, and then he was on the floor face-first—not screaming or clutching his head—and blood pooled out from under him.

Another origin appeared behind Micah, and then another and another and another. The soldiers blocking the stairwell hit the floors.
Thump. Thump. Thump
. A path was cleared.

“Come on,” Archer urged.

Turning back to Micah, my gaze locked with the child’s. “Thank you.”

Micah nodded.

With one last look, I turned and darted around the bodies. The thin soles of my shoes slipped on the wet floors—floors slippery with blood. It was already seeping through the bottom of my shoes. I couldn’t think about that now.

Archer pushed open the stairwell door, and as it swung shut behind us, Daemon spun on me, his hands suddenly gripping my upper arms. He roughly pulled me against him and up on the tips of my toes.

“I almost lost you. Again.” His lips brushed over the hot spot on my forehead, and then he kissed me, a deep and forceful kiss that tasted of residual fear, desperation, and anger. The kiss was dizzying in its intensity, and when he pulled back I felt stripped bare.

“No time for swooning,” he said with a wink.

Then we were tearing up the stairs, hand in hand. Archer caught a soldier on the landing. With a brutal throw, he tossed him over the railing. A series of sickening cracks caused my stomach to lurch violently.

Soldiers spilled out onto the second-floor landing. In their hands weren’t normal pistols but what looked like stun guns.

Using the railing, Daemon let go of my hand and vaulted up a level. A soldier blew past me, landing two levels down on his side. Archer was right behind Daemon. He ripped a stun gun away and tossed it down to me. Switching the pistol to my left hand, I hurried up the rest of the stairs and squeezed on the first soldier I was near.

Like I suspected, it was some kind of Taser. Two wires shot out, smacking the soldier in the neck. The man started twitching like he was having a seizure and went down. The clip disengaged, allowing me to hit the one swinging on Archer.

Once the landing was clear, Daemon dragged two of the unconscious men to the door, stacking them atop each other.

“Come on,” Archer urged as he rounded the landing, shedding the long-sleeve camo top. He reached to his neck, tucking dog tags under his white shirt.

With all the onyx and diamond in the building, I was pretty useless without my gun and Taser. The muscles in my legs were starting to burn, but I ignored them and pushed on.

When we reached ground level, Archer looked over his shoulder at us. He didn’t speak out loud, and the message was directed at both of us.
We don’t try to take any vehicles from the hangar. Once outside, we’ll be faster than anything they have. We head south toward Vegas, on Great Basin Highway. If we get separated, we meet at Ash Springs. That’s about eighty miles from here.

Eighty miles?

There’s a hotel called The Springs. It’s used to having weird people show up.
While I wondered what kind of weird people, and realized that was a stupid thing to even be thinking about, Archer reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet. He shoved cash in Daemon’s hand.
This should be enough
.

Daemon nodded curtly, and then Archer looked at me. “Ready?”

“Yes,” I croaked, my fingers tightening around the guns.

With fear so thick I could taste its bitter tang, I took a deep breath and nodded again, mostly for my own benefit.

The door opened, and for the first time in what had to be months, I breathed in fresh air from the outside. Dry but clean air, not manufactured. Hope bubbled up, giving me the strength to power forward. I could see a slice of sky beyond the vehicles, the color of dusk, pale blue and orange-red. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Freedom was right
there
.

But between us and freedom was a small army of soldiers. Not as many as I’d expected, but I assumed that a lot were still underground, dealing with the origins.

Daemon and Archer wasted no time engaging. Bursts of white light lit up the hangar, ricocheting off tan Humvees, tearing through canvas. Sparks flew. Punches were thrown in close combat. I did my part—Tasing anyone I could get close to.

As I darted around the fallen bodies, I spied an artillery load in the back of a flatbed truck. “Daemon!”

He twisted around and saw what I was pointing at. I took off, narrowly avoiding being tackled. I turned, squeezing off another round. Metal prongs dug into the back of the soldier. Bright white light tinged in red crackled over Daemon’s shoulders, wrapping around his right arm. Energy pulsed, arcing over the space between him and the truck.

Seeing what he was about to do, several soldiers ran, taking cover behind the large Humvees. I did the same, heading for a row of vehicles as Daemon hit the back of the truck, and it went up like the Fourth of July. The explosion rocked through the hangar, a powerful wave that shook my insides and knocked me flat on my butt. Thick gray smoke billowed through the enclosure. In an instant, I lost sight of Daemon and Archer. Over the popping explosions, I thought I heard Sergeant Dasher.

I was stunned into immobility for a second, blinking out the acrid stench of burning metal and gunpowder. A second was all it took.

Out of the heavy smoke, a soldier appeared. I sat up, whipping the stun gun around.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said, catching my arm in both hands, above my elbow and below, and twisting.

Pain shot up my arm and burst along my shoulders. I held on, rolling my body so that I broke the brutal hold. The soldier was trained, and even with all the work Daedalus had put into training me, I was no match. He caught my arm again, the pain sharper and more intense. I dropped the stun gun, and the soldier landed a stinging blow across my cheek.

I don’t know what happened next. The other gun was in my left hand. My ears were ringing. Smoke burned my eyes. My brain had clicked into survival mode. I fired the gun. Warm liquid sprayed me across the face.

With the gun being in my left hand, my aim was slightly off. I hit him in the left side of his chest. I wasn’t even sure what part of him I was aiming at, but I hit him. There was a gurgling sound that I found so strange, because I could hear it over the yelling, over the screaming, and over the shells still going off. Nausea rolled up my stomach.

A hand landed on my shoulder.

Screaming, I whirled and came within two seconds of offing Daemon. My heart almost stopped. “Dammit. You scared the crap out of me.”

“You were supposed to stay with me, Kitten. That wasn’t staying with me.”

Sending him a look, I edged around the back of a Humvee. The encroaching night sky beckoned us like a siren. Archer was a few Humvees down. He caught sight of us, looked at the opening, and nodded.

“Wait,” Daemon said.

Dasher appeared out one of the doors, surrounded by guards. His usually neat hair was a mess. His uniform was wrinkled. He was scanning the strewn debris, issuing orders I couldn’t make sense of.

Daemon looked up, his gaze tracking the floodlights. A half grin appeared, and he caught my stare, winking. “Follow me.”

We backtracked, creeping along the side of the Humvee. Peering out around the scorched canvas, I saw the coast was clear. Hurrying down the row of vehicles, Daemon stopped in front of a metal pole that rose to the ceiling.

When he placed his hands on the beam, the Source flared from his fingertips. A wave of light rolled up the pole and spread out across the ceiling. Lightbulbs blew, one after another, stretching the length of the hangar, plunging the room into near darkness.

“Nice,” I uttered.

Daemon chuckled and grabbed my hand. We started running again, meeting up with Archer. Panicked voices rose, creating a diversion for the three of us to head toward the lower opening, in the opposite direction from Dasher’s crew. But the moment we stepped out from behind the row of Humvees, the dim glow from outside cast enough light.

Dasher spotted us immediately. “Stop!” he screeched. “This isn’t going to work. You can’t leave!” He pushed past the guards, literally shoving them out of the way. He was absolutely frazzled, probably knowing that Nancy’s golden boy was within steps of freedom. “You won’t get away!”

Daemon whipped around. “You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to do this.”

Dasher opened his mouth, and Daemon threw his arm out. The unseen push of the Source lifted Dasher off his feet and sent him flying into the air like a rag doll. He cracked into the wall of the hangar and fell forward. Daemon started toward him.

“No!” yelled Archer. “We don’t have time for this.”

He was right. As much as I wanted to see Dasher taken out, one more second and we’d be overrun. Tugging on Daemon, I pulled him toward the darkening opening of the hangar. “Daemon,” I pleaded. “We need to go!”

“That man’s been touched by God, I swear.” Daemon turned, a muscle jumping in his jaw.

The sound of boots pounding on pavement echoed like thunder around us as Archer moved to the front. “Get down.”

Daemon’s arms went around my waist as we bent down, and he curled his body over mine in a near-crushing embrace. Through the thin slit between his arms, I saw Archer place his hands on the back of a Humvee. I didn’t know how he did it, but the six-thousand-pound vehicle lifted into the air and was thrown like a Frisbee.

“Good God,” I said.

The Humvee crashed into the others. Like a hulking domino, it created a rolling chain reaction, destroying nearly the entire fleet and sending soldiers fleeing.

Daemon sprang up, bringing me with him. He tore the silver cuff off his wrist and slid it onto mine. Almost immediately, a jolt of energy went through me. Layers of exhaustion lifted off, my lungs expanded, and my muscles flexed. It was like taking several shots of pure caffeine. The Source roared to life, a warm spring bubbling through my veins.

“Don’t shoot!” screamed Nancy, barreling out from the side hangar. “Don’t shoot to kill! We need them alive!”

Daemon’s hand tightened on mine, and then we were running with Archer. Each step took us closer to the outside. My speed picked up, as did theirs.

And then we were outside, under the deep blue sky. I looked up for a second and saw stars poking through, glimmering like a thousand diamonds, and I wanted to cry, because we were out.

We were out.

Chapter 19

Daemon

We were out.

But we weren’t free yet.

Not all the vehicles were out of order. They were after us, on land and in the sky. We were moving fast, though. Wearing the opal, Kat could almost pick up my kind of speed, but with the chopping of helicopter blades quickly approaching about ten miles out, Archer broke apart from us, heading to the west.

I’ll create a diversion
, he said.
Remember. Ash Springs.

Then he was off, a blur that disappeared into the horizon. There wasn’t an opportunity to ask what he was doing or to stop him. A few seconds later, there was a pulse of light, and then another spaced out a mile apart. I didn’t look back to see if the spotlights from the helicopter had veered off our course, taking the bait. I didn’t think about what would happen to him if he were caught. I couldn’t afford to think or worry about anything other than getting Kat somewhere safe, even if it was just for the night.

We raced across the desert, our feet stirring up the scent of sage. There was nothing for miles, and then we came across a herd of free-roaming cattle. Then nothing again as we kept close to the highway.

The farther and longer we went, concern piled on top of itself. Even with the opal, I knew Kat couldn’t keep up for much longer, not for eighty miles. Hybrids tired quickly, even with the enhancer. Unlike us, where it actually took more energy to slow down, she was going to crash. Hell, eighty miles would wear me out, but Kat… For her I’d run a million miles. And I knew she’d do the same for me, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t in her DNA.

There was no time to stop and ask her how she was doing, but her heart rate was through the roof, and each ragged breath she took expelled immediately.

The trickle of fear that had been in my veins grew with each step and each rapid beat of my heart. This could kill her, or at the least do some serious damage.

I spared a brief glance at the night sky. Nothing but stars, and no lights in the distance. We still had another thirty or so miles to go, and it would be too much of a risk for me to take my true form and speed up the process. Light streaking across the desert at night would be way too obvious and give all those UFO enthusiasts something to talk about.

Slowing down unexpectedly, I had to slip an arm around Kat’s waist to keep her from falling. She was breathing heavily as she looked up at me, the skin around her mouth pale and pinched.

“Why…why are we stopping?”

“You can’t go on much longer, Kitten.”

She shook her head, but her hair stayed plastered to her cheeks. “I can—I can do this.”

“I know you want to, but this is too much. I’ll take the opal and carry you.”

“No. No way—”

“Kat. Please.” My voice broke on the last word, and her eyes widened. “Please let me do this.”

Her hands shook as she brushed the sweat-soaked hair away from her face. That stubborn little chin raised a notch, but she took off the opal cuff. “I hate…the idea of being carried.”

She handed over the cuff, and I slipped it on, getting a little zap from it. I also took the gun from her, slipping it in the waistband of my pants. “How about you get on my back? So in a way you’re not being carried—you’re riding me.” I paused and then winked.

Kat stared.

“What?” I laughed, and her eyes immediately narrowed. “You should see yourself right now. Like a kitten—that’s what I keep telling you. Your hackles are raised.”

Her eyes rolled as she shuffled behind me. “You should conserve your energy and stop talking.”

“Ouch.”

“You’ll get over it.” She placed her hands on my shoulders. “Besides, you could be knocked down a peg or two.”

I crouched, hooking my arms under the backs of her knees. With a little hop, she slid her arms around my neck and wrapped her legs to my sides. “Baby, I’m so far up the ladder there aren’t any pegs under me to be knocked down.”

“Wow,” she said. “That’s a new one.”

“You loved it.” Tightening my grip on her, I let the Source tap into the opal and blend with it. “Hold on, Kitten. I’m going to start to glow just a little, and we’re going to go fast.”

“I like when you glow. It’s like having my own personal flashlight.”

I grinned. “Glad I can be of assistance.”

She patted my chest. “Giddy up.”

Feeling much better about this, I kicked off the ground and picked up the kind of speed I couldn’t while running alongside Kat. Her weight was nothing, which was concerning all by itself. I needed to get the girl some steak and burgers stat.

When I saw we were approaching city lights, I veered closer to the highway, searching out a sign, and there it was. Ash Springs—ten miles out.

“Almost there, Kitten.”

I had slowed down enough that she was able to wiggle free. “I can run the rest of the way.”

Wanting to argue but knowing that if I did, it would only delay getting somewhere to hunker down, I kept my mouth shut. I also knew it was more than that. Kat wanted to prove, not just to me but to herself, that she was an asset not a hindrance. That need to show she could stand on equal ground with me and the other Luxen had been what drove her to trust Blake. I took off the opal and handed it back to her. “Let’s do this, then.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

I took her smaller hand in mine, and we ran the rest of the way to Ash Springs. The whole trip took us about twenty or so minutes, but those minutes felt like a lifetime. Depending on how Daedalus was searching for us, we had a good two-hour lead on them, more if they followed Archer.

Once we hit the outskirts of Ash Springs, we slowed to a walk, keeping off the sidewalks and away from the lampposts. The town was small—Petersburg small. Signs everywhere pointed to one of the many natural hot springs.

“I bet I smell like day-old funk.” Kat stared longingly at a sign for one of the hot springs. “I’d love a bath right about now.”

Both of us were covered in a fine layer of dust from the desert. “You do smell kind of ripe.”

She shot me a dirty look. “Thanks.”

Chuckling under my breath, I squeezed her hand. “You smell like a ripe blossom about to bloom.”

“Oh, whatever. Now you’re just being dumb.”

I led her around a hedge shaped like…hell, I had no idea what it was supposed to be. An elephant crossed with a giraffe? “What things would you do for a bath?” I turned, lifting her over a fallen branch. “Nasty, bad things?”

“I have a feeling you’re going to turn this into a perverted conversation.”

“What? I would never do such a thing. You have such a twisted brain, Kitten. I’m aghast at your suggestion.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry that I’ve tainted your innocence and virtue.”

I cracked a grin as we stopped at an intersection. Up ahead were several glowing signs for hotels. The streets were empty, and I wondered what time it was. Not a single motorist had gone by.

“I think I’d shank someone for a shower,” Kat said as we crossed the street. “Including you.”

I let out a surprised laugh. “You couldn’t take me.”

“Do not doubt my need to get this funk off me— Hey.” She stopped, pointing down a side road. “Is that it?”

There was a sign in the distance. The
S
was a dim red, which made it look like
The prings Motel
. “I think so. Let’s check it out.”

Hurrying down the narrow side road and past dark storefronts, we hit the parking lot. It was definitely off the beaten track and…

“Oh boy,” Kat said, slipping her hand free. “I think this is one of those motels that charge by the hour, and people come to overdose in them.”

She had a point. It was ranch-style, one level, and shaped like a
U
with the lobby in the middle and a wooden deck wrapping around the entrances to the motel rooms. Lighting was dim in and around the building, and the parking lot had a few cars in it—the kind of cars that were a day away from hitting the junkyard.

“Well, now we know what kind of places Archer likes to visit,” I said, eyes narrowing on the yellow light seeping out onto the wooden planks in front of the lobby.

“He hasn’t been to many places.” She shifted from one foot to the other. “He hasn’t even eaten at Olive Garden, so I doubt he’s a connoisseur of hotels.”

“No Olive Garden?”

She shook her head.

“Man, we’ve got to get that boy some endless breadsticks and salad. Travesty,” I murmured. “You talked a lot to him?”

“He was the only one who really was…nice to me. Well, in his own way. He’s not really a warm and fuzzy guy.” She paused, tilting her head back as she gazed at the star-strewn sky. “We didn’t talk a lot, but he was always there with me. I never thought he’d be the one to help us in the beginning. I guess first impressions really don’t mean jack.”

“I guess not.” A sudden wariness had etched across her face as she lowered her chin. I could see the weight of everything settling on her. Almost the same look I’d seen on Beth’s face the morning I left, before she’d freaked out.

I didn’t know what to say as we headed across the parking lot. There really were no words that fit how far Kat’s life had been derailed. Nothing I could say would make it better, and trying to seemed to undervalue everything she’d gone through. Like telling someone who’d lost a loved one that the deceased was in a better place. No one wanted to hear that. It didn’t change anything, make the grief go away, or shine any light on why it happened.

Sometimes words were cheap. They could be powerful, but in those rare occasions like now, words meant nothing.

We stopped under a faint lamp along the side of the hotel that faced several benches and picnic tables. Soot covered Kat’s face. Dried blood dotted her cheeks. My stomach lurched. “You were bleeding?”

She shook her head, casting her eyes back to the sky. “It’s not mine. It was a soldier’s. I…shot him.”

What little relief I felt was overshadowed by what she’d had to do and would still have to do if push came to shove. I handed her the gun. “Okay. All right.” I cupped her cheeks. “Stay here. I’m going to take a different form and get the keys. If anything looks fishy, you shoot first and ask questions later. Okay? Don’t use the Source unless you have to. They can track that stuff.”

She nodded. I noticed that her hands were fidgety. Adrenaline was still pumping through her, keeping her on her feet. She’d need a sugar overdose real soon. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said.

“Good.” I kissed her, wanting to linger so as not to leave her out there alone. But there was no way I could take her into the lobby like this. Sketchy people checking in or not, she was bound to draw attention. “I’ll be right back.”

“I know.”

I still didn’t move. My eyes searched her weary ones, and my heart rate kicked up. Kissing her once more, I forced myself to let go and then turned, heading back around to the front. I called up the image of one the guards and took his form. Memory supplied jeans and a T-shirt. All of it was a facade, like a mirror throwing off a reflection. Except the image I reflected was fake, and if you looked too long and too hard, you started to see cracks in the disguise.

A bell gave a jovial little
ding
as I entered the lobby. The air smelled of clove-scented cigars. There was a gift shop to the right, several old chairs positioned in front of vending machines, and to the left was the check-in desk.

An older man waited behind the counter. His eyes were bug-like behind thick glasses. He was rocking plaid suspenders. Awesome attire.

“Howdy,” said the man. “Need a room?”

I approached the counter. “Yes. Got any available?”

“Sure do. Looking for a few hours or the night?”

I almost laughed because of what Kat had said outside. “For the night, maybe two.”

“Well, we’ll start out with just one night and go from there.” He turned to the register. “That will be seventy-nine. We only take cash here. Nothing for you to sign and no ID required.”

No big surprise there. I dug into my pocket and opened up the wad of cash. Holy shit, what was Archer doing carrying several hundred dollars with him all the time? Then again, it wasn’t like he’d be easy to mug.

I handed over a hundred. “Mind if I take a look at the shop?”

“Go ahead. I ain’t got much to do.” He nodded at the TV on the counter. “Reception is always spotty around here in the middle of the night. The same with the TV in your room—room fourteen, by the way.”

Nodding, I took my change and the key to the room and headed over to the gift area. There was a stack of unisex shirts with the words
Route 375: Extraterrestrial Highway
emblazoned in a bold green across the front. I grabbed a large one for myself and a small for Kat. There was a pair of jogging pants that would be a little big on her but would do. I picked a pair for myself and then turned, scanning for food.

My eyes landed on a stuffed green doll with an oval head and large black eyes. I picked it up, frowning. Why in the world did humans think aliens looked like a whacked-out Gumby?

The motel manager chuckled. “If you’re into the alien stuff, then you’re in the right place.”

I grinned.

“You know you’re about eighty or so miles from Area 51. We get a lot of visitors here on their way to do some UFO watching.” His glasses had slid down his nose. “Of course, they don’t get into Area 51, but people like to get as close as possible.”

I put the doll back and turned toward the food aisle. “You believe in aliens?”

“I’ve lived here my whole life, son, and I’ve seen some crazy unexplainable things in the sky. Either it’s aliens or the government, and I’m not a big fan of the idea of it being either.”

“Me neither,” I replied, grabbing up as much sugar as I could find. I added a
They R Among Us
tote bag, one of those crappy pay-as-you-go phones, and a few other things that caught my attention. Before I headed back to the counter, I wheeled around and grabbed the stupid alien doll.

As I checked out, I kept an eye on the parking lot. Nothing had moved, but I was itching to get back to Kat.

“There’s an icebox outside if you need it.” He handed over the bag. “And if you need another night, just come on by.”