Ashes (Book 2 The Kindred Series) (13 page)

Hunting them.

Swallowing heavily, Cassie tried to
push down her rising panic. She had to keep her wits, if they were
going to survive this. She took a step closer to Dani. Dani shot
her a questioning, confused look as she shook her head slightly.
“You seem awfully jumpy tonight, are you sure you’re
ok?”

“Yes.”

A branch snapped loudly. Cassie jumped
as it crashed through the woods, tearing more branches free as it
hurtled to the ground. Instinctively she grabbed hold of Dani’s
arm, pulling her closer as she studied the forest. “There’s someone
out there,” Dani said softly, her voice wavering
slightly.

Cassie pulled her back a step, she
wanted to turn and flee, dragging Dani through the woods with her.
She would have too, if she thought there was any chance of them
being able to get away. “Just stay by me,” she
whispered.

A flurry of motion on her right caused
Cassie to spin. A blur raced at them, so swiftly that it nearly
blended in with the trees. Nearly became imperceptible to the human
eye. Terror tearing through her, Cassie shoved Dani aside. Dani
cried out in surprise as she fell to the ground, rolling away on
the path. Cassie had only a moment to react as she swung out,
slamming the palm of her hand upward.

Julian’s head snapped back, blood burst
over her, spraying across her face as his long teeth bit sharply
into his lower lip and his nose shattered. Cassie jerked back in
surprise as the warm liquid washed over her. Julian grunted
slightly, but his attack did not slow. Arms wrapping tight around
her waist, he jerked her to the side as they fell to the ground in
a tumbled heap.

A startled cry escaped as they rolled
over, bouncing hard across the path. Reacting on pure instinct,
Cassie pulled her legs up against her chest and wedged them against
Julian’s hard body. Terror and adrenaline washed through her as she
pushed up with all her might, trying desperately to dislodge
him.

Julian growled with rage as he was
flipped off her. Rolling away, Cassie bounded gracefully to her
feet. She darted away, heading back toward Dani, desperate to
escape, desperate to survive. Dani stood at the edge of the path,
her mouth parted slightly, her eyes wide with fear. “Run!” Cassie
screamed at her.

Dani’s terrified gaze swung toward her
as another blur raced out of the woods. Cassie caught a brief
glance of blood red eyes and elongated teeth as Devon rushed
swiftly past her. Rumbling growls echoed through the woods as he
collided with Julian, who had been coming back after her. Devon
seized hold of him, slamming him into the ground. They rolled as
they clawed and tore at each other, murderous snarls of rage echoed
throughout the forest.

The smell of blood filled the air.
Cassie shuddered, turning back around, unable to leave Devon alone
with the monster. She knew that she should flee, but she could not.
Devon rolled, bounding back to his feet as Julian knocked him
aside. “Devon!” she cried, shocked by the blood oozing from the
jagged slices in his magnificent face.

His gaze swung toward her, the blood
color of his eyes was startling and frightening. His face was
twisted, his teeth extended sharply over his bottom lip. He looked
like a monster, but he was still the person that she loved, and she
couldn’t leave him here. “Go!” he growled at her. She took an
involuntary step back. “Go!” he bellowed when she moved no
further.

Cassie jumped in surprise, tears pooled
in her eyes as hopelessness filled her. His gaze swung away from
her as Julian went at him again. They fell together, snarling and
growling as they tore at each other with the ferocity of savage
animals. Cassie’s ears rang with the noise as it hammered into her
head. A large locust tree shuddered, rocking forcefully as Devon
slammed Julian against it. A jagged tear raced up the trunk,
cracking as it tore up it.

Melissa and Chris burst onto the path,
their eyes wide with horror as they took in the battle before them.
“Move!” Cassie screamed at them, snapping them out of the daze that
held them riveted.

Bolting across the path, they skidded
to a halt beside Dani. Devon slammed Julian into the tree again.
The crack gave way with a loud snap that echoed throughout the
forest. Devon and Julian were forced from each other as the tree
fell with a resounding boom that shook the earth.

Devon bounced across the ground,
landing feet away from Cassie. She moved swiftly toward him,
needing to help him. He was back on his feet before she could reach
him. He bolted forward, colliding with Julian again. Numbed with
terror and horror Cassie could only watch helplessly as they tore
at each with the frenzied savagery of feral, rabid
animals.

The earth beneath her feet began to
rumble, a strange pulsing energy suddenly came from it. Cassie
gazed down in shock as the earth seemed to heave, pulsating with an
odd new rhythm that was frightening as well as energizing. Her
mouth parted slightly as a beat began to rise from the dirt,
throbbing up her legs and making its way down her arms.

Cassie looked up in surprise as the
earth seemed to explode with a current of electricity that rocked
her back a step. Eyes widening in terror Cassie watched in horror
as Devon and Julian were shot backward, bouncing across the ground
like ping pong balls. They both remained limp, knocked unconscious
by the bolt that had slammed into them.

Cassie gasped, choking on her terror as
she raced to Devon’s side. Falling beside him, she tore at him,
grasping at his lifeless body. Instinctively, she rested her hand
on his chest, searching for a heartbeat but finding none. She
panicked for a moment, until she recalled that he wouldn’t have a
heartbeat anyway. It took a few moments for it to fully sink in
that he was still alive, though he did not breathe, there was a
life energy pulsating from him. Mouth gaping, Cassie looked slowly
around the eerily quiet pathway, unable to understand what had just
happened, or where the strange energy had come from.

“What was that?” Chris whispered,
astonishment choking his voice. If it hadn’t been so frightening
and shocking, Cassie would have laughed when she looked at him. His
shaggy blond hair was standing on end. It looked as if someone had
just rubbed a balloon over the top of it. His arms were raised at
his sides, the hair standing up as he looked at them in
astonishment. “What the hell was that?” he demanded more
fiercely.

Melissa stood beside him, her hair not
quite as bad as it was in a tight braid, but a few strands of it
were standing up. Melissa looked just as stunned as Chris as her
gaze slowly moved toward Dani, her body shifting slightly. Dani
stared back at them, her eyes wide, her mouth parted in horror as
she bashfully met their gazes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” she
whispered.

Cassie gaped at her for a moment,
unable to believe that the tiny girl had done this. “You did this?”
Cassie inquired sharply, her hands clenching tighter on Devon’s
motionless body.

Dani nodded slowly, looking close to
tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispered again.

“Is he going to be ok?”

Dani’s gaze darted over to her, falling
briefly on Devon. Confusion flitted over her face, but she did not
look at all surprised, or horrified over what had just happened. A
numbing knowledge settled over Cassie as she leaned closer to
Devon, her hand stroking over his battered face as she prepared to
defend him to the death.

Even if it was against one of her own
kind.

Dani nodded slowly, her gaze flickering
back to Cassie as she tried to sort out what she was witnessing.
“He should be fine.”

“Should be?” Cassie hissed. “Should
be!?”

“Cassie,” Chris said gently, giving up
on calming his hair down.

Cassie took a deep breath, trying to
compose herself as her attention returned to Devon. Though he
remained immobile, the jagged wounds in his cheek had already begun
to heal. She could practically see the muscle reattaching itself as
the blood dried on him. The scent of his blood was strong, hinting
of spices and power. Even in his bloodied and unconscious state he
was still magnificent, and he was hers.

A protective urge surged through her as
she bent closer to him. She needed him to wake up, needed him to
come back to her. And she needed it to happen soon.

“What did you do?” she asked
softly.

Dani looked sheepishly around, her gaze
landing everywhere but on them. “It’s… it’s an electric pulse,” she
answered shakily. Then her gaze focused on Cassie, her eyes
narrowed sharply. “Why are you defending him? I thought they were
our enemies?”

Melissa and Chris looked nervously at
Cassie before turning their attention back to Dani. “You don’t know
it all,” Cassie retorted. “And neither do we.”

“I think we need to get out of here, we
can discuss this later,” Melissa interjected softly, her gaze
darting to Julian’s prone figure fifty feet down the
path.

He had been further away from the blast
then Devon, did that mean he would wake faster? Cassie’s hand
twitched to the stake at her side, her mind and heart hammered with
the possibility of destroying him now, of ending the misery of so
many people. Could she get down there in time? “How long does it
last?” she inquired softly.

“Cassie!” Melissa hissed in
warning.

Dani licked her lips nervously as she
glanced at Julian. “I… I don’t know. On normal people,” she glanced
wearily at them again, seeming to understand that they were not
normal. In fact, Cassie thought Dani knew exactly what they were,
just as they knew exactly what she was. There was going to be a lot
of explaining to do once they were out of this situation. “It can
last an hour or two, depending on the strength of the blast. On
them,” her gaze darted over Devon and Julian. “I have no idea, it
varies.”

Cassie inhaled sharply, her attention
returned to Julian. This could be their opportunity to stop it, to
make it all end. They could stop the murders and the suffering, end
the fear they had lived with since Julian had arrived. She just
didn’t know if she would have time to get to him and kill him
before he awoke.

“Can you shock him again?” she asked
softly.

Dani shook her head, her bright red
highlights flashing in the light of the moon. “No. I have little
control over my ability; it usually comes out when I’m frightened.
I’ve never been able to use it twice in the same day.”

“Like a battery,” Chris whispered,
still looking slightly awestruck. When Dani frowned fiercely at
him, seeming a little insulted, he quickly explained himself. “You
need time to recharge.”

Dani still did not look appeased as she
shrugged. “I guess,” she mumbled.

Cassie glanced back at Julian,
twitching to get her hands on him, desperate to end it once and for
all. Devon showed no sign of awakening any time soon. Would it be
the same with Julian? “We can do it,” she whispered.

“No Cassie!” Melissa said sharply. “We
need to get to safety. We need to get Devon to safety,” she added
more pointedly.

Reluctantly tearing her gaze away from
Julian’s body, Cassie shifted, adjusting herself as she slid her
arm under Devon’s shoulders. Melissa was right; Devon was her
number one concern right now. She could not take the chance of him
being hurt tonight, nor could she take the chance of Julian
awakening anytime soon and coming after him in this vulnerable
state. “Give me a hand Chris!” she ordered briskly, her heart
hammering with her desperate need to get Devon out of
here.

He hurried forward, his gaze still
wearily on Julian as he bent to help Cassie. It took a few moments
but they finally got Devon to his feet. Draping his arms over their
shoulders, they drug him toward Dani and Melissa. Cassie’s hand
clenched tightly on Devon’s waist, needing to touch him as fear for
all of them raced through her.

“We need to hurry,” Melissa said
urgently, her onyx eyes darting anxiously back to Julian. Though
her dark eyes did not reveal a recent vision, Cassie knew Melissa’s
instincts were highly honed because of her premonitions. Cassie’s
heart hammered even harder as she glanced over her shoulder, Julian
still had not moved.

They shuffled as swiftly down the path
as they could while dragging Devon between them. Dani wound easily
along, her flashlight bouncing across the trail, flashing off the
eyes of a fox as it darted into the woods. Cassie was relieved to
note the return of the wildlife, surely that meant that Julian was
still safely unconscious. Didn’t it?

Cassie scanned the forest continuously,
searching for any hint of his return in the shadowed interior.
“Just a little further,” Dani whispered.

Devon twitched suddenly, his hand
tightened upon her shoulder. Cassie stiffened, her heart hammered
as adrenaline shot through her. “Faster,” Chris urged. “Go
faster.”

They broke into a slow trot, Dani and
Melissa moved swifter without the added burden of Devon’s weight. A
deer bolted through the forest, the loud crashing of its passing
reverberated around them. “Oh,” Cassie breathed, forcing herself to
ignore the growing ache in her shoulders, back, and legs as she
tried to move faster. The eerie silence returned once more, a pall
hung over the shadows. “Melissa!”