stop this thing?”
Wyatt met her gaze, and then turned away as the same fear rushed through his mind. But Stiles wasn’t ready to give up.
“There’s another place for us to look.”
“And then? What if Houston is just as empty as this?”
“Then we find something else. We go to Rachel and see if she knows anybody who’s been looking for scientific notes.”
Wyatt nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“And then?”
Wyatt groaned. “One step at a time, babe.”
“Exactly.”
And then?
She wouldn’t let it go. She stared at Stiles, the question so clear in her eyes he could almost read the words as though they were stamped to her irises.
We don’t stop fighting.
She studied his face for a moment, her eyes softening a little. He got a flash of trees, of a small grove of trees behind something…buildings, before she cut him out again. Then she took Wyatt’s hand and they were off, racing to Houston for the last of Lily and Luc’s labs.
Chapter 16
The lab in Houston was in a domed city, a lot like Genero. And it was a good thing, too, because most of the city was under water.
Dylan stood on the lawn outside one of the dorm buildings. These were numbered rather than given alphabetical designation as they had been in Genero, but that seemed to be the only difference.
She turned in a circle, looking first at the administration building, and then the windows on the sides of the dorm. She picked out one window in particular, one that was where her room would have been if this were Genero. She could still remember the view outside that window, the dreams she’d had when she stared out of it. If she had only known what her future held for her back then…
“Let’s do this,” Wyatt said, grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the administration building. “I don’t like the look of those cracks.”
Dylan looked up and saw the spider web-thin cracks all along the top of the dome. She hadn’t noticed them before, but Wyatt was right. Water was misting down on them, leaving a fine sheen on their skin like sweat after a vigorous run.
“It’ll hold,” Stiles said, but Wyatt didn’t seem to hear him.
Even though the outside of the buildings was eerily similar to Genero, inside the administration building was as different as it could possibly get. The décor was warm and inviting; the first floor one huge open space. There was no basement, nor did there appear to be a dungeon in the attic. There were classrooms on the second and third floor and a stretch of offices on the fourth and fifth. The lab was on the top three floors: the sixth, seventh, and eighth. But the equipment was gone, just as it had been in Chicago.
“They closed this one down, too.”
Dylan ran her fingers through the dust on one of the many tabletops. “This was planned…organized.”
“It seems like it,” Wyatt said.
“That means there wasn’t as much of the hybrid-making stuff going on as Lily and Luc wanted us to believe.”
“What are you getting at?” Stiles asked.
She looked at him, the wheels turning in her head. “They were giving everyone something to do.” She dragged her fingers through her hair, her thoughts moving so quickly she could hardly keep up. “Luc told me they allowed the resistance to continue in order to give those they weren’t ready to enslave something to do. He said all the pure humans were already gone by the time I was born.”
“You know that’s a load of bull, don’t you?” Wyatt asked. “If it was already over, why did they attack us? Why did they chase after us all that time?”
“They wanted me. They wanted me to heal Lily.”
“And before that?”
Dylan shrugged. “You attacked them, they retaliated.”
“And this?” Wyatt waved his hand around him. “Why is this here?”
“A decoy. Something to keep the gargoyles busy.”
Wyatt shook his head. “That’s crap.”
“Don’t you see? Lily convinced everyone she was creating this new breed of angel that
Wyatt met her gaze, and then turned away as the same fear rushed through his mind. But Stiles wasn’t ready to give up.
“There’s another place for us to look.”
“And then? What if Houston is just as empty as this?”
“Then we find something else. We go to Rachel and see if she knows anybody who’s been looking for scientific notes.”
Wyatt nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“And then?”
Wyatt groaned. “One step at a time, babe.”
“Exactly.”
And then?
She wouldn’t let it go. She stared at Stiles, the question so clear in her eyes he could almost read the words as though they were stamped to her irises.
We don’t stop fighting.
She studied his face for a moment, her eyes softening a little. He got a flash of trees, of a small grove of trees behind something…buildings, before she cut him out again. Then she took Wyatt’s hand and they were off, racing to Houston for the last of Lily and Luc’s labs.
Chapter 16
The lab in Houston was in a domed city, a lot like Genero. And it was a good thing, too, because most of the city was under water.
Dylan stood on the lawn outside one of the dorm buildings. These were numbered rather than given alphabetical designation as they had been in Genero, but that seemed to be the only difference.
She turned in a circle, looking first at the administration building, and then the windows on the sides of the dorm. She picked out one window in particular, one that was where her room would have been if this were Genero. She could still remember the view outside that window, the dreams she’d had when she stared out of it. If she had only known what her future held for her back then…
“Let’s do this,” Wyatt said, grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the administration building. “I don’t like the look of those cracks.”
Dylan looked up and saw the spider web-thin cracks all along the top of the dome. She hadn’t noticed them before, but Wyatt was right. Water was misting down on them, leaving a fine sheen on their skin like sweat after a vigorous run.
“It’ll hold,” Stiles said, but Wyatt didn’t seem to hear him.
Even though the outside of the buildings was eerily similar to Genero, inside the administration building was as different as it could possibly get. The décor was warm and inviting; the first floor one huge open space. There was no basement, nor did there appear to be a dungeon in the attic. There were classrooms on the second and third floor and a stretch of offices on the fourth and fifth. The lab was on the top three floors: the sixth, seventh, and eighth. But the equipment was gone, just as it had been in Chicago.
“They closed this one down, too.”
Dylan ran her fingers through the dust on one of the many tabletops. “This was planned…organized.”
“It seems like it,” Wyatt said.
“That means there wasn’t as much of the hybrid-making stuff going on as Lily and Luc wanted us to believe.”
“What are you getting at?” Stiles asked.
She looked at him, the wheels turning in her head. “They were giving everyone something to do.” She dragged her fingers through her hair, her thoughts moving so quickly she could hardly keep up. “Luc told me they allowed the resistance to continue in order to give those they weren’t ready to enslave something to do. He said all the pure humans were already gone by the time I was born.”
“You know that’s a load of bull, don’t you?” Wyatt asked. “If it was already over, why did they attack us? Why did they chase after us all that time?”
“They wanted me. They wanted me to heal Lily.”
“And before that?”
Dylan shrugged. “You attacked them, they retaliated.”
“And this?” Wyatt waved his hand around him. “Why is this here?”
“A decoy. Something to keep the gargoyles busy.”
Wyatt shook his head. “That’s crap.”
“Don’t you see? Lily convinced everyone she was creating this new breed of angel that
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