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 planning. I can hear almost any human—any one that’s not mutated.”
“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 gunning for me. That if I ever decide to leave this place, I’m going to be a Snack Pack for an Arum. And better yet, I may lose complete control of whatever powers I have and wipe out a family of four, then be put down! All I wanted to do today was eat some goddamn fries and be normal!”