“Yeah. We’ve been around awhile.” He shrugged. “But after we quit making music, Darkside started to fall apart. Disintegrating, particle by particle. A few generations later, some Darklings were born with a genetic mutation that gave them the ability to interact, at least a bit, with baryonic matter, the stuff your world’s made of. And then your scientists started to see evidence of our world too. They’re hunting for it now, smashing atoms and staring into the middle of galaxies, trying to see what should still be invisible.” His jaw had tightened and Keira saw something angry glowing in his eyes.
“So, why come here at all?” she asked suspiciously. “I don’t get it.”
“About twenty-five years ago, the Reformers got this idea to start a breeding program. The few females of our kind who could interact with the human world would, uh, mix their genetics with musically talented humans.” He raised an eyebrow at her and Keira flushed as understanding swept over her. “The Reformers’ plan was for them to rebuild the missing part of our brains, so that we’d be able to create music again. That’s why they’re called that. Because it’s their intention to re-form the Darklings. Literally.”
“I can play music,” Keira said slowly. “So it worked, right?”
Walker shifted uncomfortably. “Sort of. There were some problems with the crossbreeding. Big problems, actually. The Reformers called the new breed ‘the Experimentals.’ But none of them—the Experimentals—showed any musical ability. And the Darklings who could cross over into your world—it got ugly for them, too.”
“Ugly how, exactly?”
“Crossing back and forth damaged the Seekers—that’s what they called the Darklings who could cross, because they were ‘seeking’ mates. Eventually, it got so bad that the Reformers shut down the program.”
“And what about the Experimentals?” Keira asked. “We’re just living here, thinking we’re crazy until someone like you shows up?”
All of the light went out of Walker’s eyes.
“Actually, you’re the only Experimental that’s ever lived in the human world. You were the exception. Your mother is human, so you were raised on earth instead of being brought up in Darkside. The rest of the Experimentals were born to Darkling women, and raised in Darkside.” His hands curled into fists. “And then they were destroyed.”
The security she’d felt with Walker ripped away painfully. “You mean—the rest of them were killed?”
He nodded.
“Why?” she whispered.
“The Experimentals had the ability to pass back and forth between the two worlds, the way you’re starting to. Only it was different from when the Darklings crossed. Those Darklings, the Seekers, suffered for it, but Darkside itself didn’t. Each time the Experimentals crossed, though, it created a rip in our world. It was destroying Darkside.” He shrugged, uncomfortable. “It wasn’t their fault. Most of them didn’t even understand that they were crossing when it happened. Eliminating them was the only way for us to save ourselves. The Experimentals were created to save Darkside. Instead, they just brought more destruction.”
“So, you’re here because . . . Oh, God, you’re a Seeker? You’re here to take me—” She couldn’t even choke out the question. There was no way she could outrun Walker. If he’d actually come here to kill her, then she was already dead. But he’d been alone with her so many times, he’d already had so many chances . . .
“Of course I’m not going to take you to them! I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.” He slid off the couch, kneeling on the floor in front of her. “I couldn’t.” Beneath him, where the living room carpet had been, a strange, dark ground appeared. It looked like smooth-swept coal dust.
“Then why did you come find me?” she asked. “And don’t try to tell me it was a coincidence.”
He shook his head. The look in his eyes was torture. “I was supposed to bring you back. The Reformers sent me to find you. I’m not a Seeker, Keira, but my parents were. I was supposed to finish their job by finding you. I thought it was the only way to keep the rest of my family safe. The Reformers are our government but it’s basically a panel of ten dictators, if you ask most Darklings. They tell us what to do and we do it. That’s what I meant when I said I’d turned. I don’t care about the mission anymore. I’m not doing what I’ve been told.”
“What would happen if you brought me back?” Keira pressed.
Walker closed his eyes. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “They’d kill you. But I’m not going to let that happen. That’s why their Seeker tried to grab you tonight. They’ve figured out that I’m not doing my job anymore.”
He opened his eyes and stared straight at her. “They know I care more about you than I do about them.”
A bulky, dark form appeared behind Walker, moving purposefully toward them. Before she could get her muscles to move, Walker’s arms were around her waist. He pulled her to the floor and she landed on top of him in a tangle of arms and legs. The two of them rolled into the coffee table, and Keira cracked her shoulder against the wooden leg with a thud. As the blaze of pain shot down her arm, whatever—whoever—was sweeping through the room disappeared.
Walker leapt up and spun wildly. “I can’t see him—there are too many goddamn trees!”