The room was large and the air clean, vanilla-scented. There were several couches, one occupied by a boy with shoulder-length brown hair tucked back behind his ears. Like the girl I’d seen dancing earlier, he was young. Maybe fifteen, if that, and he had holes in his jeans the size of Mars. Around his wrist was a silver cuff that circled a strange stone. It was black, but not obsidian. In the center of the stone, there was a reddish-orange flame and below it, speckles of blue and green.
Whatever stone it was, it was beautiful and expensive looking.
The kid glanced up from the DS he was playing on, and I was kind of dumbstruck by his boyish beauty. Eyes the color of amethyst locked with mine briefly and then went back to the game. That kid was going to be a looker one day.
Then I realized Daemon had stiffened and was staring at a guy in a leather chair. Stacks of hundreds were splayed across the desk in front of an icy-blond guy who was staring back at Daemon, brilliant silver eyes wide with shock.
The guy was probably in his early thirties, and my God, he was gorgeous.
Daemon stepped forward. The guy stood. And my heart sped up. My worst fears spread through me like wildfire. “What’s going on?” I asked. Even Blake seemed nervous.
The kid on the couch coughed out a laugh, closing his DS. “Aliens. They have this wacky internal system that lets them sniff each other out. Guess neither of them was expecting to see the other.”
I turned to the kid slowly.
He sat up, swinging his legs off the couch. He would’ve had a baby face if it wasn’t for the keen intelligence in his eyes or the experience set in the hard lines of his mouth. “So, you crazy kids want to break into the Daedalus stronghold and you want my help?”
I gaped. Luc was a mother-freaking kid.
Chapter 15
I waited for the kid to yell, “Psyche!” and scamper off to the nearest playground, but as the seconds stretched out, I came to accept that our messiah of information was barely a teen.
Luc smiled as if he knew what I was thinking. “Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Surprised about anything, that is.”
He stood, and I was shocked to discover that he was almost as tall as Daemon. “I was six when I decided to play chicken with a speeding cab. It won. Lost the coolest bike evah and a lot of blood, but lucky me, my childhood friend was an alien.”
“How…how did you get away from Daedalus?” And so young, I wanted to add.
Luc moved over to the table, his steps smooth and effortless. “I was their star pupil.” His grin was wicked, almost disturbing. “Never trust the one who excels. Isn’t that right, Blake?”
Leaning against the wall, Blake gave a lopsided shrug. “Sounds about right.”
“Why?” Luc sat on the edge of the desk. “Because eventually the pupil becomes smarter than the teacher, and I had some really, really intelligent teachers. So.” He clapped his hands together. “You must be Daemon Black.”
If Daemon was surprised Luc knew his name, he didn’t show it. “That would be me.”
The kid’s ridiculously long lashes lowered. “I’ve heard of you. Blake’s a big fan.”
Blake raised a middle finger.
Daemon said drily, “Glad to know my fan club is far reaching.”
Luc cocked his head to the side. “And what a fan club—oh, my bad, I didn’t introduce you to your fellow Luxen all-star. This guy goes by Paris. Why? I don’t know.”
Paris smiled tightly as he extended his hand toward Daemon. “Always nice to meet another not bound by old beliefs and unnecessary rules.”
Daemon shook his hand. “Same. How did you fall in with him?”
Luc laughed. “Long story for a different day—if there is a different day.” Those extraordinary peepers slid back to me. “Do you have any idea what they will do to you if they realize you’re a fully functional hybrid?” He tipped his head down, grinning. “We are so very rare. Three of us together is actually quite amazing.”
“I have a good imagination,” I said.
“Do you?” Luc’s brows rose. “I doubt Blake has even told you the half of it—the worst of it.”
I glanced at Blake. His expression went on lockdown. An icy wind ran up my spine that had nothing to do with my lack of clothing.
“But you know that.” Luc stood and stretched, like a cat after a nap. “And still you are willing to take the huge risk of going into the hornet’s nest.”
“We really don’t have a choice.” Daemon shot the quiet Blake a dark look. “So are you going to give us the codes or not?”
Luc shrugged, running his fingers over the stacks of money. “What’s in it for me?”
I exhaled roughly. “Other than pissing off Daedalus, we really don’t have much to offer.”
“Hmm, I don’t know about that.” He picked up a cluster of hundreds secured with a rubber band. A second later, the edges of the bills curled inward, paper melting until the scorched scent filled the air and nothing remained.
I was envious, considering the whole using-light-for-heat-and-fire thing completely passed me over. “What can we do for you?”
“Obviously money’s not an issue,” Daemon added.
Luc’s lips twitched. “Money isn’t needed.” He brushed his fingers off on his jeans. “Power isn’t, either. Honestly, the only thing I need is a favor.”
Blake snapped off the wall. “Luc—”
His eyes narrowed. “A favor is all I want—one that I can collect at any time. That’s what I want in return, and I’ll give you all you need to know.”
Well, that sounded easy. “O—”
“Wait,” Daemon cut me off. “You want us to agree to a favor without knowing what that favor is?”
Luc nodded. “Where’s the risk if you know everything?”
“Where’s the intelligence if we don’t?” Daemon shot back.
The kid laughed. “I like you. A lot. But my help doesn’t come without its own peril in exchange.”
“God, you’re like the preteen mafia,” I muttered.
“Something like that.” He flashed a beatific smile. “What you—all of you—don’t understand is there are things much, much bigger than a brother’s girlfriend or a friend…or even ending up under the man’s thumb. There’s change brewing behind the winds, and the winds are going to be fierce.” He looked at Daemon. “The government fears the Luxen, because they represent mankind’s fall from the top of the food chain. To fix that, they’ve created something much stronger than a Luxen. And I’m not talking about ordinary little baby hybrids.”
I shivered. “What are you talking about?”
His purplish eyes met mine, but he said nothing.
Paris folded his arms. “Not to be rude, but if you’re not willing to deal, there’s the door.”
Daemon and I exchanged looks. I honestly didn’t know what to say. It seriously was like making a deal with the mafia—with a creepy kid-mafia boss.
“Guys,” Blake said. “He’s our only chance.”
“Christ,” Daemon muttered. “Fine. We owe you a favor.”
Luc’s eyes gleamed. “And you?”
I sighed. “Sure. Why not.”
“Awesome! Paris?” He held out his hand. Paris bent down, grabbed a small MacBook Air, and handed it over. “Give me a sec.”
We watched him punch away at the keyboard, brows drawn in concentration. While we waited, a door at the back of the room opened and the young girl from the stage peeked her head into the room.
Luc’s head jerked up. “Not now.”
The girl’s frown was epic, but she closed the door. “She’s the girl on—”
“Don’t finish that sentence if you want me to continue. Don’t even talk about her. Frankly, you’ve never even seen her,” Luc said, eyes fastened on the screen again. “All deals will be off.”