Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) (26 page)

Julian simply continued to stare at her
a moment longer before his gaze turned slowly toward the two men
tied to the chairs. Anger and hatred flitted swiftly over his
defined features. “How much reason do they have?” he
growled.

Patrick shifted slightly, wiggling his
hands behind his back. His eyes were cold, flat, as he met Julian’s
furious gaze. “Far more than we would have liked. It’s why we were
destroying them, they were more dangerous than we had
realized.”

Cassie shuddered as disgust and
revulsion filled her. He sounded as if he were simply talking about
rabid animals and not human beings with families and lives. She
found herself wishing that the creatures had killed him when they
broke in. “They had realized you were going to destroy them all and
they plotted their escape,” Cassie breathed.

“Bastard!” Julian hissed.

Patrick showed no signs of remorse as
he met Julian’s fierce gaze. “Insanity,” Luther whispered.
“Complete insanity.”

“Julian,” Cassie breathed. He turned
slowly toward her. “Julian someone has to warn him, please
Julian.”

He hesitated for a moment before
nodding briskly. “I’ll find him.”

“You can’t go out there
alone.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Cassie reached for him as he grabbed
hold of the door. Terror flooded her, she wanted Devon safe, but
she didn’t want Julian to be hurt in the process. “Take me with
you.” He shook his head, his hand clenching hold of hers. “Take
someone with you.”

“I’m not leaving you with even less
numbers in here than before. I will be fine princess.”

Her fingers tightened upon his,
clinging to him for a moment longer. “Don’t call me princess,” she
whispered.

He grinned at her before releasing her
hand. “Anything you say. You are to stay in here, do you understand
me?” Cassie nodded. “I mean it Cass, you stay inside I’m trusting
you on this one. I can’t save you both.”

She managed another small nod. Chris,
having risen from the chair, pulled her back a step. She watched in
terror as Julian slipped out the door.

CHAPTER 14

“Cassie.” She turned briefly away from
the small hole she had found in another window. Annabelle stood
nervously by her side, her tiny hands clenched tight. “Cassie maybe
you should get some sleep, you must be exhausted.”

Cassie shook her head as she turned
away. She was exhausted, her entire body ached from being so stiff
and anxious, but she would not rest until Julian and Devon returned
to her safely. Besides, she could not go to sleep when they were
still so very vulnerable to attack. It was only a matter of time
before the creatures regrouped and came back at them in full force,
unless they had decided to spread out from the town in search of
easier victims. Though, with the cunning and thirst for vengeance
the creatures appeared to have, she did not think they would leave
this town until they had extracted their revenge.

Cassie glanced over to where Patrick
and Joey remained tied. They would be the main reason that the
monsters came back, but they would have to get through all of them
in order to kill those two. Cassie wasn’t so sure she wanted to put
up a fight in order to protect them. “Cass.” She turned back toward
Annabelle, hating the pity and sympathy in her bright sea green
eyes. “They’ll be fine.”

“Yes,” she breathed, not at all
convinced.

Annabelle squeezed her hand gently
before slipping silently into the shadows. Cassie returned to
staring out at the dark night. The moon danced across the snow,
casting bright light off of its white surface. Stars twinkled in
the sky; they were bright hopeful lights against a curtain of black
night. The skeletal branches danced and swayed in the gentle breeze
that wafted through them.

Julian and Devon had to be freezing out
there. A shiver raced down her, she rested her fingers against the
board on the window. She desperately wanted to go out there, to
search for them herself; she hated feeling helpless and alone. She
hated feeling this torn and adrift in the world.

Then she saw it, a darker shadow
amongst the night; a figure amidst the woods. Cassie’s heart turned
over, thumping with a mighty heave that left her breathless. The
darkness caressed his hard body; the moon lit his black hair.
Though she could not discern his features, he was the same size and
shape as Devon. His hair was the same dark color. Devon would not
have gone far from them, she knew that. He would not have left her
alone.

And she was not going to leave him
alone.

Spinning on her heel, she fled toward
the door. Chris jumped toward her, trying to block her before she
could get her hand on the knob. But she was faster than he was.
Throwing the lock, she tossed the door open. “Cassie!”

The wind hit her, the chill of it
blasted against her, but it did not slow her. She plunged into the
night, needing to see Devon, to hold him. To ease the ache that
burned in her bones and muscles. She plunged across the street; her
breath blew out in bursts of steam in the frigid air. She pushed
herself faster, harder.

She was halfway across the street, when
he emerged from the shadows. Relief filled her, then confusion and
surprise. She sprinted forward a few more steps before true
realization sank in. This man was not Devon; he did look oddly like
him with his dark hair, and sleek build. Even some of his features
resembled Devon’s. His cheekbones were high and defined like
Devon’s, his mouth full, but his nose was slightly bigger, and his
face thinner. He was slightly shorter, stockier, but the
differences were so small that she had not immediately picked up on
them. His eyes though, it was his eyes that confused her the most.
They were not the same bright emerald color as Devon’s, they were a
darker almost forest green, and they were crueler, with an edge of
malice that finally slid her to a halt.

She stared at him, her mouth wide open,
and shock hammering her heart against her ribcage. He and Devon
were so alike, and yet so different. Who the hell was this
guy?

She shook her head, taking a step back
as terror filled her. She didn’t know who he was, but it was more
than apparent that he was not on her side as evil and hunger
radiated from him. Yet, he did not appear to be one of the
creatures either as his eyes remained clear and he did not appear
half crazed. Malevolent yes, but half crazed no. She took another
step back, swallowing heavily. She wanted to turn and flee, but she
instinctively knew that she would not get away.

“You must be her,” he
purred.

Cassie frowned as she took another step
back, trying hard to keep her terror in control. Who the hell was
this man? She knew what he was, but who the hell was he that he
thought he knew her? And why was he staring at her with such malice
when she didn’t even know him?

She took another small step back,
trying not to draw his immediate attack. She could sense his power,
his strength. She could feel it thrumming from him like a tightly
wound guitar string. Taking another step back, she tried to breathe
through the lump of fear in her throat and the tight constriction
in her chest.

A small, cruel smile twisted his lips.
Lips that weren’t as full as Devon’s but the upper one was stiff
like Devon’s, while the bottom was soft. Confusion continued to
twist through her. The similarities were so striking, so fierce.
Yet so different. There was no softness in his gaze, no love, no
humanity.

She took another step back, but knew
instinctively that it didn’t matter what she did, he was going to
come after her anyway. “Pretty.”

Though the word was barely a soft hiss,
Cassie heard it as clearly as if he had been standing beside her.
She shivered, suddenly certain that he could be beside her in an
instant. Her skin crawled as if he had touched her, crawled as if
he were already next to her.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as his
smile widened. “This is going to be fun.”

Cassie’s hands clenched as she prepared
herself for the attack she knew was imminent. Then she felt the
ground begin to rumble, felt the earth shake and tremble as it
lifted and shook with mighty waves. A fissure sprouted in the
street, zigzagging rapidly toward her as the pavement cracked and
heaved. A startled cry escaped her as she jumped out of the way of
the rapidly growing hole in the middle of the street.

She wanted to turn and flee, but as she
took a step back, her foot came up against the edge of another
hole. She glanced wildly around, terrified to realize that a large
hole had formed around her. A hole she was beginning to realize she
could no longer see the bottom of. Dirt and pavement fell into the
widening gaps; it clattered as it bounced off the sides of the dirt
and rock.

Chris, Liam, Melissa, and Annabelle
skidded to a halt at the edge of the hole. They stood, gaping at
her across the widening five foot gap. Behind them, she could see
Dani and Luther gathered at the edge of the store, watching in
horror as the earth gave another mighty heave. Cassie stumbled,
falling as she lost her balance. A small cry escaped her as her
hand fell into one of the ever growing pits, and her leg skidded
off the side.

“Cassie!” Melissa screamed.

Terror rushed up to replace her shock.
For the first time she realized that the earth may just swallow her
whole. She scrambled away from the edge of the growing cavity,
knocking more rocks and pavement away, causing her small shelf of
safety to become even smaller.

“Cassie!” Chris was kneeling before
her, stretching his hand across the widening breach. “Reach for my
hand!”

She gathered her legs beneath her.
Kneeling, she leaned forward as she reached for his questing hand
across the gap. Her fingertips were just centimeters from his, just
within reach. She stretched herself as far as she could, but it was
not enough. Frustration filled her; helplessness consumed her as
her small plateau began to shrink.

“Jump!” he hissed at her.

Desperation seized her as she lunged
forward, leaping for Chris’s hand. She fell forward; air and space
rushed up to meet her as she tumbled toward the large chasm. A
small scream of terror worked its way up her throat, but it lodged
there as Chris’s hand grasped hold of her arm. His fingers dug into
her skin, he held her tight, his grip painful and bruising, but
greatly welcome. Cassie’s breath froze in her lungs, her body
stiffened as she waited for the impending, painful contact of the
wall of dirt and rocks. She lifted her other hand, preparing to use
it to block as much of the blow as she could as she fell rapidly
forward. Her legs kicked out, catching a glance blow off the wall.
The impact of the wall threw her off balance, spinning her around
in midair as Chris clung to her.

Arms suddenly wrapped around her,
grasping her so tight that the air exploded from her lungs. A
startled cry escaped her as Chris’s hand was ripped away, leaving
long scratch marks down her arm. The crater rushed away from her,
the arms encircled her tighter. She would have panicked against the
sudden hold, but she recognized Devon’s smell and solid embrace
instantly.

All of her terror disappeared, the
tension eased from her body as she allowed herself a moment to melt
against him, to savor in him, to take comfort in the strength and
reassurance of his embrace. Then, they were on solid ground. His
legs bowed as he took the impact of their landing, lifting her high
so that her feet did not touch the ground.

He held her against his chest for a
moment, his nose buried in her hair as he inhaled her scent deeply.
A shiver of delight and desire raced down her spine. For a brief
moment she allowed herself to forget everything as her fingers dug
into his hard arm. His lips touched briefly against her ear, then
her neck, before he gently lowered her to the ground.

He rose slowly, his hand encircling
hers as he lifted her to her feet. His eyes were hard as they met
hers, his jaw locked tight, and his shoulders stiff. For a moment
love filled his gaze, and then resignation and anger blazed forth.
Cassie’s eyes widened, her hand tightened around his as she
clenched it tighter. This Devon was different than the one that had
fled the store. That one had been terrified that he would hurt her,
that he would take her against her will. This Devon looked prepared
to do war as he released her.

He kept her behind him, his arm braced
in front of her as he turned to face the strange man across the
way. The strange man with the frightening power to make the earth
split apart in order to swallow her whole. The man was grinning at
them; his eyes alight with mischief and delight. “There you are!”
he cried eagerly, clasping his hands before him. Cassie’s eyes
widened in the face of his obvious, malicious delight at seeing
Devon. “I was so hoping you would join us!”

“Here I am,” Devon growled.

Cassie wanted to reach for Devon, to
cling to him, but she found herself unable to move as she watched
the exchange in wide eyed fascination. Standing across from each
other, the similarities between the two were even more noticeable,
as was the immense hatred they had for one another. Devon stepped
closer to her, blocking her even more from view as the strangers
gaze darted quickly toward her, his smile widened to reveal his
long fangs.