Obsidian (Lux 1)

“Am I glowing?” I asked.

Like the sun.

Well, that worked. Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Call Daemon and tell him where I’m going.”

Be careful. Please.  Her light began to fade.

“You, too.” I turned and raced out of the house toward my car before I could think twice about what I was doing.

Because this was absolutely insane—the craziest thing I’d ever done. Worse than giving a one-star review, scarier than asking for an interview with an author I’d give my firstborn to eat lunch with, more stupid than kissing Daemon.

But this was all I could do.

My hands were shaking when I shoved the key into the ignition and backed out of the driveway, narrowly missing Dee’s Volkswagen. I hit the gas, squealing out onto the main road. I was clenching the steering wheel like a granny, but driving like I was trying out for NASCAR.

I kept glancing in my rearview mirror as I flew down the highway, expecting to find Arum chasing after me. But every time I checked, the road was empty.

Maybe this hadn’t worked? Oh God, what if Baruck continued to the house and found Dee? My heart leapt into my throat. This was a stupid, stupid idea. My foot faltered on the gas pedal. At least he wouldn’t be able to use me to get to Dee.

My cell rang from the passenger’s seat. Unknown Caller? Now? I almost ignored it, but I grabbed it and answered anyway. “Hello?”

“Are you out of your freaking mind?” Daemon yelled into the phone. I winced. “This has to be the stupidest thing—”

“Shut up, Daemon!” I screeched. The tires swerved a little into the other lane. “It’s done. Okay? Is Dee okay?”

“Yes, Dee’s okay. But you’re not! We’ve lost him, and since Dee said you’re glowing like a goddamn full moon right now, I’m betting he’s after you.”

Fear spiked my heart rate. “Well, that was the plan.”

“I swear on every star in the sky, I’m going to strangle you when I get my hands on you.” Daemon paused, his breath heavy on the phone. “Where are you?”

I glanced out the window. “I’m almost to the field. I don’t see him.”

“Of course you don’t see him.” He sounded disgusted. “He’s made of shadows—of night, Kat. You won’t see him until he wants you to.”

Oh. Well. Shit.

“I can’t believe you did this,” he said.

My temper snapped under the fear. “Don’t you start with me! You said I was a weakness. And I was a liability back there with Dee. What if he came there? You said so yourself he’d use me against her. This was the best I could do! So stop being such a damn jerk!” There was such a gap of silence I thought he’d hung up on me, but when he spoke, his voice was strained. “I didn’t mean for you to do this, Kat. Never something like this.”

His voice sent shivers through me. My eyes darted over the blurred shapes of trees. I drew in a deep breath, but it got stuck. “You didn’t make me do this.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Daemon—”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want you hurt, Kat. I can’t— I can’t live with that.” Another stretch of silence passed while his words sunk in and then, “Stay on the phone. I’m going to find a place to ditch the car and I’ll meet you there. It won’t take more than a few minutes to get there. Don’t get out of the car or anything.” I nodded as I pulled the car to a stop inside the field. The moon rolled behind a cloud, turning everything pitch black. I couldn’t see anything. A horrifying, sick feeling settled in my stomach. Reaching down, I grabbed the obsidian blade and held it tight. “Okay. Maybe this wasn’t the strongest idea.” Daemon barked a short, harsh laugh. “No shit.”

My lips twitched as I glanced in the rearview mirror. “So, um, the not living with your—”

There was a shadow there that looked…more solid than the rest. It moved through the air, thick like oil, slipping over the trees, spreading along the ground. Tendrils reached the back of the car, sliding over the trunk. My throat dried, lips parted.

The blade warmed in my hand. “Daemon?”

“What?”

My heart thudded. “I think—”

The automatic locks unlocked and my driver’s door flew open. A scream came out. One second I was holding the phone and the next I was flying to the ground, my fingers almost losing their grip on the blade. Pain shot through my arm and side as I hid the blade behind me.

I lifted my eyes. My gaze traveled over black pants and the edges of a leather jacket. Pale face. Strong jaw and a pair of sunglasses covered the eyes even though it was night.

Baruck smiled. “We meet again.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“Tell me,” he said, bending down and lifting a strand of my hair. His head swiveled to the side as he talked, moving back and forth like a bird. “Where is he?”

I swallowed thickly as I scrambled back across the ground. “Who?”

“You’re going to play dumb with me?” He stepped forward and removed his sunglasses, slipping them inside his jacket. His eyes were black orbs. “Or are all humans just so stupid?”

My chest rose and fell sharply. The blade was only good in his true form. And it was burning through the leather, stinging my hand.

“I want the one who killed my brothers.”

Daemon. My entire body was shaking. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

“And you…you killed one of them, protecting him.” He flickered out. There was my chance, but before I could move, he solidified in front of me. “Take me to him or I will make you beg for death.” I shook my head, tightening my hand. “Screw you.”