Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress 1)

“About the same.” I took a moment to catch my breath, dragging each intake into my lungs as if I was on life support. Smoke had seeped inside this little alcove, so the air wasn’t fresh and left an ashy taste in my throat.

“If we go through there,” Dallas said, pointing to the double doors that led into the club, “another fight will break out, and I’m not sure my body can go another round right now.”

“Big baby,” I said. I wasn’t going to admit that I felt the same way. My bones throbbed, and my muscles burned. “There’s a window on the north wall. If it opens, we might be able to get outside without drawing any attention to ourselves.”

“That’s worth a try,” he said.

We limped to the window in question and paused. Our curses mingled together in a long, heated sputter as we surveyed the potential exit. The thick stained glass was welded to a copper frame, which was welded to the wall. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the wall was welded to a steel support beam.

Dallas shifted his attention left, then right. Not a single piece of furniture, not a single decoration, occupied the hallway. Muttering more curses under his breath, he removed his left shoe. “If this doesn’t work,” he told me, “we have to go through the club. Start praying.”

“I gave up prayer a long time ago.”

“Do it anyway.” He placed the boot over his fist and hit the glass, dead center, using all his strength. Nothing. He punched and punched and punched. Finally, thankfully, the glass gave way and shattered. The sound blended with the booming music like wind chimes on a blustery day. I’m sure we tripped some sort of alarm.

I removed my jacket and threw it over the jagged threshold. Dallas gave me a hand up. He came through behind me, tossed me my jacket, and we were on our way. I welcomed the cold, fresh breeze as darkness and snowflakes swirled all around us.

“I hear footsteps,” Dallas said, grabbing my hand. “Move faster.”

Together, we dashed to his car.

Two hours later, we were no closer to finding Lilla than we had been when we first left the club. We now had her voice on tape, but wherever she was, she wasn’t talking, so we couldn’t pinpoint her location. We’d tracked down and spoken with several people she’d listed as contacts, but had no luck with any of them.

“This sucks ass,” Dallas said.

I agreed.

I sat in the passenger seat of his sedan. We were maneuvering down the East District’s winding streets, made slick from the snow. Though the car guided itself, Dallas kept his eyes on the road, ever conscious of our surroundings. Music rocked softly from the speakers, and heat trickled from the vents, both as oppressive as my thoughts.

Someone close to me was going to die before the night ended.

The premonition took me by surprise. I blinked, and just like that I saw a scene unfold in my mind, though I could not make out all the specifics. I saw the blast of a pyre-gun, the fall of a man. I couldn’t see his face, nor could I see who had fired the shot; I only knew the shooter was a woman, the victim was my friend, and every fiber of my being was screaming of the approaching death.

Dallas sometimes teased me about being psychic. I always denied it, said my instincts were simply better than most. But I lied. I was able to predict certain events.

I was fourteen years old the day of my first vision. In my mind I had seen my youngest brother lying in a crimson river, three aliens standing over him, laughing and pointing. I’d pretended then that what I’d seen hadn’t been real, had only been a figment of my imagination. But the next day I found Dare unconscious, his body drained of blood.

My next vision came a year later. I saw my dad get drunk and step in front of an oncoming car. Vehicle sensors hadn’t been as sensitive as they were today, and the front end slammed into him. Of course, I immediately told him what I’d seen. He’d laughed, waved me away with an indifferent sweep of his hand. Two days later a sedan barreled into him. He broke his hip and leg and had to endure bone replacement surgery. He’d never spoken of it, but I know my ability scared him.

That’s when I began to realize just how different I was. I realized, too, that I had to push myself harder than everyone else, had to be better, stronger, and smarter if I wanted to be seen as one of the boys.

I rubbed a hand over my face. With this new vision, I was going to take measures to prevent it from coming true. I had to. Yet with each second that ticked by, dread churned inside me, growing colder than the glacial snow whipping outside the windows.

Just what could I do? Delay our hunt until tomorrow, perhaps? Radio all of my men and send them home?

As soon as those thoughts entered my mind, I discarded them. Civilian lives depended on me. On us. I wouldn’t abandon my job, even for one night. And my men wouldn’t either, even if I begged them. Our jobs came before our emotions. Always.

So what could I do? My teeth ground together as helplessness claimed me. Over the years, I’d lost my brother Dare and many, many friends to rogue aliens, and I wouldn’t lose another friend without a fight. I didn’t have many left, and those I had meant something to me.

“Stop the car,” I managed on a shaky catch of breath.

Dallas cast me a quick glance. “Why? We’re almost—”

“Stop the f**king car!”

“Stop,” he commanded the vehicle. The sound of squealing tires filled my ears, and I was suddenly thrust forward with the momentum of our skid and ultimate stop. Another car honked and swerved around us.

Dallas leveled me a frown. “What the hell’s the matter with you?”

I didn’t know what to tell him, so I simply said, “I need a moment to think.”

“Of what?How to find Lilla?” He lost some of his anger. “I’ve already loaded her voice frequency, but she’s not goddamn talking, so there’s nothing we can do.”

“Just get on the computer and see what else you can dig up about her.” I didn’t spare Dallas another glance. “Open,” I commanded the door, and the hatch slid open. I stepped into the bitterly cold night.

I strode a few paces away, my boots crunching snow with every step. I realized I stood at the edge of

State Street

, alone, silent, the cloak of twilight and stars all around me. Several snowflakes floated onto my lashes, and I blinked the crystals away, hoping to blink my fears away, as well.

Both remained.

Maybe I had missed something in the vision, some obscure detail that would help me prevent the death from occurring. There was only one way to find out….