The Burning Shadow (Origin 2)

She lowered her keys. “Should I be worried that you just ran down the stairs at breakneck speed?”

“Not exactly.” I hopped onto the stool. “I have a question for you.”

“I might have an answer.” Mom walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, sitting it on a gold-colored coaster. It was new. She had a habit of collecting coasters like some people collected expensive purses or shoes.

“Can humans get sick from a Luxen? Catch something like a cold or a flu?”

Mom stared at me for a moment. “You’ve seen the news.”

“Yes.” I tipped toward her, resting my feet on the lower bar of the stool. “A whole apartment building in Kansas City has been quarantined, and it seems like everyone is sick or dead inside. The reporters are talking like it’s some kind of infection passed from Luxen to humans, but—”

“Luxen cannot make humans sick, Evie.” Reaching up, she placed two fingers to her temples as if she had a sudden headache. “There is no known cross-species disease. Luxen—we—don’t even get sick, not like humans.” She briefly closed her eyes. “If those poor people are sick from some kind of virus or infection, it is not from Luxen. If anyone is saying that, it’s an unsubstantiated opinion not remotely based in the science or any of the extensive research that has been done.”

That’s what the girls and I thought. “Then why would they put that out there like that? You know how people believe whatever they hear or see. They read a stupid post on Facebook about killer spiders hiding under toilet seats, and even though that makes no sense, they believe it and share it five million times. People are going to believe this.”

Mom shook her head as she lowered her hand to the gray granite island top. “The idea of Luxen carrying some kind of unknown virus that can infect humans is far more salacious than carbon monoxide poisoning or a virus like influenza, which is probably the actual source of these illnesses. After all, it is flu season.”

“They’re saying that Ryan—that boy I told you about—died of the flu. I know you said that the flu can kill, but is it really that deadly? And could it be the same virus that killed the people in Kansas City and Boulder?”

“I think it’s unlikely that it’s the same strain, but every year, there are cases of H1N1 and other strains that are quite deadly. Plus, like I told you before, it can be extremely dangerous for those with compromised immune systems. People just don’t report on that kind of stuff, because it’s not going to get the ratings they want.”

“What those reporters were saying is so incredibly dangerous,” I murmured, turning my gaze to the small window above the sink. “People already…”

“People already fear us,” she finished for me, her voice so quiet, I had to look at her. “People are already going to assume and think the worst of us, and that is why I must be careful. That is why Luc must be careful.” A chill skated over my skin as my eyes met the exact same shade as mine. Her contacts were a warm brown. “And that’s why you must be careful.”7“It was my brother’s fault,” Emery said, running a hand over her head, catching the shoulder-length, raven-black strands in her fingers. Her hair was buzzed close to the skull on one side, and I was this close to totally copying her hairstyle. “I love Shia and miss him every day, but it was his fault.”

It had been two weeks since the trip to Harpers Ferry and the quarantine situation in Kansas City, and luckily, there hadn’t been any more situations like that.

Cooler and more logical heads were prevailing. So far. Many human doctors and scientists were on TV nightly, as was Daemon’s sister, Dee, attempting to dispel the rumors that there was some kind of virus being passed from Luxen to humans. They were making headway, thankfully, because there’d been no more cases of the mysterious virus.

Somehow, the three of us had gotten on the topic of what happened to Emery’s family during and after the invasion, while we were in Emery’s apartment above Foretoken. Before I’d learned that Emery was a Luxen, I’d been told that her family had died, but I never knew how.

“There were a lot of Luxen here who weren’t happy with having to live like humans. They thought that they should be in control,” Emery explained as she sat back. “That we were the higher life-forms, so why were we living in the shadow of humans? My mom was still alive then, and so was my other brother, Tobias. They were like me, having no problem living like humans. I mean, it would’ve been great to have things out in the open. Pretending to be human isn’t easy.”