Tremble (Denazen #3)(56)
“Any more and I risk destroying his mind,” the girl said. She’d turned toward the camera. Long straw-colored hair and innocent brown eyes. On the outside, a normal-looking girl. On the inside? A Denazen bastard with no soul. “I could easily kill him by accident.”
“Ninety-eight cannot be given Domination until I know this can be fixed. I can’t risk him remembering Deznee. If he survives the drug, he’ll be even more dangerous afterward than he is now.”
“Are you sure you want to risk his life?” the lab-coat man asked. “One forty-three expired last night. Incompatible with the drug. He was quite strong.”
Dad ignored him and nodded to the girl. “Make it work.”
The screen flickered, and when it came back, everyone was standing in a different place. Dad was directly in front of Kale now, hand on his chin, tilting it toward the light. There was a glazed look in Kale’s eyes. “What is the name of the girl you love?”
Kale didn’t answer right away, and my heart gave a small squeeze. Eyes rolling back, his head lolled to the left as the fingers of his right hand twitched. “Blo—blond hair. Black pieces.” He tried to stay upright but his knees wouldn’t hold the weight. He collapsed, sending a rattle through the chains that echoed in the room. “Brown eyes…beautiful…ez…”
“This will have to do,” Dad snapped, pulling his hand back. Kale’s head jerked to the side as my dad stepped away and turned to Mindy. “I think I can make this work. Follow the rest of your instructions and come find me when it’s done.”
The screen went black.
“Kale?” His eyes hadn’t moved from the screen even though the picture was gone. The look on his face scared me. “Kale, tell me what’s on your mind.”
Slowly, he turned to me, expression nearly ripping my heart in two. “I remember that day.”
Hope was a fragile and dangerous thing. It had the ability to build you up higher than the clouds—and then drop you. A free-fall at a million miles an hour headed straight for solid, crushing ground. Still. I couldn’t help it. “You remember?”
He stepped away from the computer. “There was someone they wanted to take away from me. Someone important. Someone essential.” Turning to me, he frowned. “I know that I would have died for this person. To keep her safe. To keep her happy—and I know that it was you.”
I reached for his hand, a swell of relief flooding through my veins, but he pulled away.
“I know,” he continued, thumping the side of his head, then his chest directly over his heart. “But I can’t remember. I know you now—and I have very strong feelings for you—but I don’t know you from then. That part of you is a ghost, Dez. A shadow that keeps moving just out of reach. And it’s driving me crazy.”
22
After seeing what was on the CD, Kale was agitated and moody. I understood his frustration and hoped maybe seeing his old room might help.
“This is your room.” I pushed open the door and stepped aside, a funny feeling fluttering in my chest as I realized we’d never been in here at the same time. When we moved in after the hotel burned to the ground, Kale hadn’t been around long enough to actually use the room. Everything had happened so fast.
Kale followed me in and closed the door. His eyes fell to the bed, the sheets still a tangled mess from the last time I’d slept here. It’d only been a few nights ago—the same night I saw him at the Nix party in town—but it felt like years. “When was the last time I slept in here?”
I moved to the bed and pulled the edge of the blanket off the floor, then straightened the pillows. “Honestly, I don’t know that you ever did. We moved in right before you—right before I got really sick. You spent most of your time next door with me.”
“Who’s been staying in here?”
I felt my cheeks flush. “Me.”
He sank onto the bed, eyes never leaving mine. “You were amazing tonight. Is it always like that? With us, I mean? This is going to sound insane, but it was fun.”
I sank down beside him and nodded once, trying not to laugh. “We’re a team. Our life is made of crazy, but we kinda like it that way.”
He was quiet for a minute. “This is hard for me, but I can’t imagine what it’s like for you. I feel…something for you, but I don’t really understand it. You remember me completely.”
I blinked back the tears threatening to spill over and took a deep breath. “It isn’t easy.”
A quick glance to my right and I saw him watching me. Under normal circumstances, that kind of scrutiny from Kale would have sent shivers of anticipation through my body. Now, all I had were my memories. He quickly turned away and sighed. “Your friends don’t seem too happy that I’m here.”
Mom and Dax had forced Kale to cover his eyes as we approached the cabin. It was all very Batcave of them, but I could understand their caution. They couldn’t take any chances. Too many innocent Sixes had taken up residence in Dax’s underground shelter.
“It’s not that, really. Things are tense. They’re just nervous, since you’ve been living with the enemy for the last few months.” I forced a smile. “And they’re your friends, too.”
He leaned closer. So close that I felt his breath against my cheek and the warmth of his skin radiating against mine. “And you?”