Ash smoothed a hand over her purple tights. The DOD knows about her, right? Were all in trouble?
My breath caught. I wasnt mad at the scornful tone in her voice. A lot was at stake if the DOD found out about me, about them. Do they, Mr. Garrison?
As far as I know, they dont know about you, he said. The elders called a meeting tonight because of the increase in DOD presence here. It appears something has caught the DODs attention.
I sank back against the chair, relieved. But then it hit me. I may be off the hook, but they werent. I glanced around the room, not wanting to see any of them in trouble. Not even Andrew.
Adam stared at a buttery piece of popcorn. Well, what did they see? No ones done anything wrong.
Dee sat the bag of popcorn aside. Whats the deal?
Matthews ultra-bright blue gaze circled the room. One of their satellites picked up the light show from Halloween weekend, and theyve been out to the field, using some sort of machine that picks up on residual energy.
Daemon scoffed. The only thing theyre going to find is a burned patch of ground.
They know we can manipulate light for self-defense, so from what Ive gathered, thats not what caught their attention. Mr. Garrison glanced at Daemon, frowning. Its the fact that the energy was so strong it disrupted a satellites signal and they werent able to snap any pictures of the event. Nothing like that has ever happened before.
Daemon kept his expression blank. I guess Im just that awesome.
Adam laughed under his breath. Youre so powerful youre disrupting signals now?
Disrupted only the signal? Mr. Garrison barked a short laugh. It destroyed the satellitea satellite designed to track high-frequency
light and energy. It zeroed in on Petersburg, and the event destroyed the satellite.
Like I said, Im that awesome. Daemons smile was smug, but I was filling with anxious energy.
Wow, Andrew murmured. Respect gleamed in his eyes. Thats pretty awesome.
As awesome as that is, the DOD is very curious. The elders believe they will be here a while, monitoring things. That theyve been here. He glanced at his wristwatch. Its imperative that everyone is on their best behavior.
What do the other Luxen have to say about this? Dee asked.
They arent too concerned at this point. And they have no reason to be, Matthew said.
Because it was Daemon who caused such a disruptive burst of energy and not them, Ash said, and then she gasped. Does the DOD suspect we have more abilities?
I think they want to know how its possible that he was able to do something like that. Matthew studied Daemon. The elders told them there was a fight between our kind. No one implicated you, Daemon, but they already know youre strong. You can be expecting a visit from them soon.
He shrugged, but fear spiked in me. It hadnt been Daemon whod taken out Baruck, so how could he explain what happened? And would the DOD guess the Luxen were far more powerful than they realized, capable of almost anything?
If so, my friendsand Daemonwere in danger.
Katy, its very important that youre careful when hanging around the Blacks, Mr. Garrison continued. We dont want the DOD suspecting that you know anything you shouldnt.
Speak for yourself, Andrew muttered.
I shot him a look, but Daemon responded before I could. Andrew, Im going to knock the
What? Andrew exclaimed. Im just telling the truth. I dont have to like her because youre infatuated with the stupid human. None
Daemon was across the room in a flash. Fully enveloped in intense reddish-white light, he snatched Andrew up and slammed him into the wall with such force the pictures around them rattled.
Daemon! I shrieked, rising to my feet at the same time Mr. Garrison shouted.
Ash jumped from her chair, gasping. What are you doing?
Grabbing her snack, Dee sighed and sat back. Here we go. Popcorn?
Adam took a handful. Honestly, Andrew needs his ass kicked. The DOD being here isnt Katys fault. She has just as much to lose as we do.
His sister whirled on him. So youre taking her side now? A humans?
This isnt about sides, I said, keeping an eye on the boys.
Both were in full Luxen mode. So was Matthew. Nothing but a male-shaped form of intense bluish light, he grabbed Daemon and yanked him off Andrew.
Ash glared at me for a long moment. None of this would be happening if you hadnt shown up here. You wouldve never gotten the original trace on you. The Arum wouldve never seen you, and this whole messed-up chain of events wouldve never happened!
Oh, shut up, Ash. Dee threw a handful of popcorn at her. Seriously. Katy risked her life to make sure the Arum didnt know where we lived.
Thats great and dandy, Ash snapped back. But Daemon wouldnt have gone all Rambo on the Arum if his precious human wasnt in danger every five seconds. This is her fault.
Im not his precious human! I took a deep breath. Im just hishis friend. And thats what friends do. They protect each other.
Ash rolled her eyes.
I sat down. Well, its what human friends do, at least.