Origin (Lux #4)(29)

My jaw clenched. “I live to entertain you.”

“Well, that’s good to know, and since that is now cleared up, may we move on?” When I nodded, her shrewd gaze sharpened. “First I want to make it clear that if at any time you pose a threat to me or to anyone else, we have weapons here that I would loathe to use on you but will.”

“I’m sure you would loathe to do that.”

“I would. There are PEP weapons, Daemon. Do you know what that stands for? Pulse Energy Projectile. It disrupts electronic and light wavelengths on a catastrophic level. One shot and it is fatal to your kind. I would hate to lose you. Or Katy. Get what I’m saying?”

My hand closed into a fist. “I get it.”

“I know you have your assumptions when it comes to Daedalus, but we hope to change that during the course of your stay with us.”

“Hmm, my assumptions? Oh, are you referencing that time when you and your minions led me to believe that my brother was dead?”

Nancy didn’t even blink. “Your brother and his girlfriend were held by Daedalus because of what Dawson did to Bethany—for their safety. I know you don’t believe that, and that isn’t a concern of mine. There is a reason why Luxen are forbidden to heal humans. The consequences of such actions are vast, and in most cases result in unstable DNA changes within the human body, especially outside of controlled environments.”

I cocked my head at that, remembering what happened to Carissa. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Even if humans survive the mutation with our help, there is still a chance that the mutations are unstable.”

“With your help?” I laughed coldly. “Shooting people up with God knows what is helping them?”

She nodded. “It was that or let Katy die. That is what would have happened.”

I stilled, but my heart rate picked up.

“Sometimes the mutations fade. Sometimes they kill them. Sometimes they hold, and then people combust under stress. And sometimes they hold perfectly. We have to determine that, because we cannot allow unstable hybrids into society.”

Anger whirled through me like a freight train. “You make it sound like you’re doing the world a favor.”

“We are.” She leaned back, sliding her hands off the table. “We are studying Luxen and hybrids, trying to cure disease. We are stopping potentially dangerous hybrids from hurting innocent people.”

“Kat’s not dangerous,” I ground out.

Nancy tilted her head to the side. “That’s yet to be seen. The truth is she’s never been tested, and that’s what we’re doing now.”

I leaned forward very slowly, and the room started to carry a white sheen to it. “And what does that mean?”

Nancy held up her hand, warding off the three stooges by the door. “Kat has proven to show signs of extreme anger, a hallmark of instability in a hybrid.”

“Really? Kat’s angry? Could it be because you’re holding her captive?” The words tasted like acid.

“She attacked several members of my team.”

A smile spread across my face. That’s my girl. “So sorry to hear that.”

“So was I. We have so much hope when it comes to you two. The way you’ve worked together? It’s a perfect symbiotic relationship. Very few Luxen and humans have reached that. Mostly the mutation acts as a parasite to the human.” She folded her arms, stretching the drab brown of her suit jacket. “You could mean so much to what we’re trying to accomplish.”

“Which is curing disease and saving innocent people?” I snorted. “And that’s it? Really, do you think I’m stupid?”

“No. I think you’re very much the opposite of stupid.” Nancy exhaled through her nose as she leaned forward, placing her hands on the dark gray table. “Daedalus’s goal is to change the landscape of human evolution. Doing so requires drastic methods at times, but the end results are worth every fleck of blood, trickle of sweat, and teardrop.”

“As long as it’s not your blood, sweat, and tears?”

“Oh, I have given this everything, Daemon.” She beamed. “What if I could tell you that we could not only eradicate some of the most virulent diseases, but we could stop wars before they even started?”

And there it was, I realized. “How would you do that?”

“Do you think any country would want to fight an army of hybrids?” She cocked her head. “Knowing what a successfully mutated one is capable of?”

Part of me was disgusted at the implications. The other half was just plain old pissed off. “Creating hybrids so they can fight stupid wars and die? You tortured my brother for this?”

“You say tortured; I say motivated.”

All right, this was one of the moments in my life when I really wanted to knock someone through a wall. And I think she knew that.

“Let’s get to the point, Daemon. We need your help—your willingness. If things go smoothly for us, they will go smoothly for you. What will it take to come to an agreement?”

Nothing in this world should have made me consider this. It went against nature; that was how wrong this was. But I was a bartering man, and when it came down to it, no matter what Daedalus wanted, what Luc wanted, there was one thing that mattered. “There’s only one thing I want.”