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

She had never kept anything from Devon,
but this was a secret she would have to keep for a little while. At
least until Devon realized that Julian was different. That Julian
was no longer their enemy, nor was he the same murderous monster
that had once been Devon’s best friend, and had once helped Devon
slaughter numerous innocents. No, this Julian was evolving,
becoming someone different, becoming someone good, and trustworthy.
He was learning to care for someone other than himself; he was
becoming more human again and less of a monster. He had become
someone that she loved and who loved her in return. He would do
anything to keep her safe, and she would also do the same for
him.

Even if the person she had to keep him
safe from was Devon.

Cassie squeezed Devon’s hand again,
seeking reassurance as she leaned her head against his chest to
savor in the scent of him. His hand entangled in her hair, crushing
her to him with a desperation that left her breathless, and on the
verge of tears. She ached for the loss and confusion and terror
that he had gone through. Ached for the turmoil and confusion she
sensed boiling through him. He bent his head to her, his lips
pressed gently against her forehead, her cheek, before finally
resting against her neck.

She felt the rapid increase of his
tension, felt the hunger that surged through him. Cassie closed her
eyes; her body tingled with excitement as she felt the hot press of
his teeth against her skin. She wished fervently that they were not
here, that they were not ensnared in this unending horror. She
wished that they were alone so that she could truly enjoy his
presence, his love, his strength.

Wished that they were alone so she
could reassure Devon that it was him she was in love
with.

Cassie’s eyes flew open as the vehicle
came to a stop. Her hands tightened upon him as a fresh wave of
panic threatened to consume her. She needed to be strong now, she
had to be strong. Taking a deep breath, she pulled slowly away. He
kept hold of her hand as she rose up to look at the large red
general store. “Why are we here?” Dani inquired, her eyes darting
nervously around the deserted street.

“Supplies,” Luther answered
briskly.

“Julian and I will go in
first.”

Cassie’s hand tightened around Devon’s
as her eyes flew wildly to him. They had just found each other
again; she wasn’t ready to part with him yet. “I’m coming with
you,” she said forcefully.

“Cassie…”

She shook her head, brushing aside the
strands of hair that fell across her eyes. “No, I’m coming with
you.”

Devon glanced wearily at the store then
back at her. “She’ll be fine; she’s been through far worse than
this. Now let’s get going, the sun is coming up,” Julian said
briskly. “Luther open the back door.”

Luther sat in stunned silence for a
moment, Devon’s hand tightened on hers as they all slowly turned
their attention back to her. Cassie found herself staring defiantly
back at them, her eyes narrowed, her chin tilted up. She knew she
was not the Cassie that had been taken from them, that she had
changed, but she was getting really tired of their strange,
questioning looks. She may be tougher now, but at heart she was
still the same person. Well, mostly, there were a few changes that
were frightening and unsettling. Changes she wasn’t sure she would
ever understand. She wasn’t even sure that she wanted
to.

Luther sighed softly before leaning
forward to push the button inside of the glove box, popping open
the back door. Julian slid out the back and slammed the door behind
him. Devon hesitated for a moment longer, but Cassie continued to
cling to his hand, unwilling to let go. “Ok,” he relented after a
moment.

“I’m coming too,” Liam said, shoving
open the door and plunging into the brisk predawn air.

Cassie shivered in response. When they
had fled their prison, she had been too hyped up on adrenaline and
fear to really feel the cold, but now that she was safe with Devon
again, the cold air seemed to pierce her to her bones. Devon slid
out of the car, helping her out behind him. Cassie winced as her
brutalized bare feet hit the ground. It was another thing she
hadn’t felt until now, but her feet were bruised, cut, and
bleeding. She glanced absently down, noting that she had somehow
lost the nail on her pinky toe. She shuddered in disgust, looking
quickly away from the bloodied mess of her feet.

“Are you ok?” Devon demanded, anger
blazing from his eyes as he looked down at her wounded
feet.

She managed a wan smile as she nodded.
“I heal fast, remember?”

He glanced sharply up at her, a small
smile curved his full mouth but his eyes remained hard. “I
remember.” She grinned up at him, leaning forward to drop a soft
kiss on his hard jaw. She may heal fast, but she couldn’t
regenerate a toenail. “I’ll carry you.”

He bent to pick her up but Cassie
quickly shook her head, holding up her hand to ward him off. “We’re
both going to need to be ready in case something happens. I’m fine
Devon, really.”

He studied her for a moment longer,
before nodding briskly. “The door is open.” Cassie glanced over at
Julian as he slipped through the darkened doorway. A moment of
panic descended over her as he disappeared from view.

“Stay by me,” Devon ordered in a low
voice.

Cassie nodded as they moved forward,
entering the dark store. Her eyes found Julian instantly, standing
amongst the shadows as he surveyed the building. The store smelled
tantalizingly of oats, honey, corn, sweet feed, and leather. The
sweet scent of food caused Cassie’s stomach to rumble in hungry
response. Liam reached forward, searching for a light switch but
Julian seized hold of his arm. “They’ll see the light if you do
that.”

“You don’t think they haven’t already
seen the headlights?” Liam retorted.

“The lights stay off,” Devon told
him.

They moved slowly into the store.
Cassie glanced wildly around, her senses on high alert for any hint
of danger. Although it was dark, her eyes picked up most of the
details. She kept her ears trained for any hint of movement, any
furtive sound that might signal the impending attack of one of the
monsters that haunted this town.

They crept slowly forward, the wooden
floor boards squeaking softly under their weight. They passed by
the glass countertop, there was a cash register placed neatly at
the end of it. Inside the countertop was an array of jewelry tucked
neatly, and oddly, next to some brutal looking hunting knives. Next
to the glass countertop was a large display of penny candy set off
to the left, with even more candy bars set up on the wall behind
it.

“Those will come in handy,” Julian’s
eyes were latched onto a foot long bowie knife behind the glass. It
was well honed and completely lethal looking.

“Good thing this is a hunting
community,” Liam said softly, his eyes focused on the back row of
the store.

Hung neatly on the back wall was a wide
assortment of crossbows and long bows. Cassie’s eyes widened on the
weapons, a thrill of excitement shot through her. She suddenly
itched to get her hands on one of those crossbows. It had always
been her favorite weapon, and she excelled at it. Devon pulled her
gently to the side, leading her past rows of brown Carhartt
jackets, pants and coveralls. Across from the outdoor gear was a
row of sweaters, sweatshirts, and long johns.

Devon paused to tug a jacket from the
hanger. He slipped it gently around her shoulders, tugging it
gently into place. She hadn’t realized she had been shivering until
the warm material encircled her, drawing her attention to the goose
bumps that covered her skin. She slipped her arms through the
sleeves, relishing in the smooth inner lining and warm down that
filled it. The sleeves were too big but Devon quickly rolled them
back and snugged them into place.

She stared up at him, love filling her
as he brushed the hair back from her face, his fingers lingered on
her cheek. Cassie turned into his tender caress, so very happy to
feel his touch once more. “There’s some food over here,” Liam said
softly.

Cassie tore her attention away from
Devon, her hand slipping easily into his as they moved further down
the aisles. Liam and Julian were standing in the far left aisle
that ran the length of the store. Freezers full of soda, ice cream,
and frozen goods filled the wall. A row of canned foods, bagged
foods, and junk food lined the shelves on her right.

Julian moved slowly toward the back of
the store, his ice blue eyes alight in the glow from the coolers.
Wide double doors opened into a large back room that was packed
nearly to the ceiling with bags of animal feed. There was food for
dogs and cats, but most of it consisted of cow and horse feed, with
a stack of grain in the back for chickens, goats, and
sheep.

“Everything you could possibly need in
one little store,” Liam said softly.

Cassie walked over to the back wall.
The room was held up by stilts, the backyard sloped down a steep
rock and dirt hill. Staring out the window, she wasn’t surprised to
find a mixture of tractors, mowers, trailers, and other assorted
equipment in the back. There were also a few chicken coops and dog
pens. Nausea twisted through her stomach, bile rose up her throat
at the sight of the carnage of the animals that had once lived
within those pens. They had been violently slaughtered and strewn
about. Closing her eyes against the disgusting site, she turned
stiffly away.

Devon came forward, resting his hands
gently on her shoulders as he pulled her away. Julian walked past
her to look out the window, shaking his head as his lip curled in
disgust. “Disgusting, vile creatures,” he muttered. “There is one
thing that we don’t have in this little store.”

“Blood,” Cassie answered for
him.

“Yes.”

They were silent, the three living dead
staring at each other for a long, tense moment. Cassie shifted
uncomfortably acutely aware of the fact that she was the only
morsel in front of them. “Well, let’s gather some supplies and get
out of here,” she said softly.

“No go. We’re going to be here for
awhile.” Julian pointed out the window to the small ray of light
breaking over the horizon. “Not all of us are lucky enough to
withstand its rays.”

Cassie winced at the reminder of what
had been done to Julian while they had been prisoners. Their
captors had exposed him to long periods of UV light to see if he
could withstand it, like Devon could. Unfortunately, he couldn’t,
and Cassie could still see the lingering remnant of a burn at the
edge of his platinum blond hair. “Aren’t we?” Devon inquired in a
low growl, his hands tightening briefly on Cassie’s
shoulders.

Cassie shot Devon a fierce look. He
could not know what had happened to Julian in there, but there was
no need to instigate him. Julian quirked an eyebrow in amusement,
though it did little to cover the tension thrumming through him. “I
may have been on this earth for a long time, but that is one trick
that even I have not managed to master. Let’s get the
others.”

He turned away, gliding gracefully back
down the aisles. Cassie moved to follow him but Devon held her
back. She glanced questioningly at him. His face was intense, his
eyes hard. “Cassie I don’t know what has happened to you, or to
Julian, over the past couple of weeks. I don’t know why the three
of you are together.” He broke off for a moment, studying her
intently. Cassie knew that he wanted an explanation, but she was
not ready to give him one yet. She was not ready to relive that
horror right now. He sighed softly; his hands briefly stroked her
arms. “I know you feel that we can trust him, but…”

“I do trust him,” she interrupted
fiercely. “I know it’s asking a lot of you Devon, but you must
trust me on this. Julian will not do anything to hurt
me.”

A strange look crossed his face, a
flicker of hurt and worry flashed through his eyes. Her hands
tightened upon him, she wished that she could make him understand,
but there wasn’t time for that right now. “Ok, fine” he relented.
“If you trust him around your friends then I will also.”

Cassie nodded, wishing she could
explain everything to him, but knowing that words could never truly
make him understand. “I do Devon. I trust him
completely.”

His eyes widened in surprise, his hands
tightened briefly on her. She knew that she was confusing him, knew
that he didn’t understand, and that he was wounded, but she could
not help it. There was no time now, and she needed him on her side.
She needed him not to instigate Julian. She needed him. He stared
at her for a moment longer before nodding briskly. “Then let’s
go.”

She followed him back to the front of
the store, and outside. Annabelle was standing by the SUV, her eyes
rapidly searching the surrounding area before darting nervously
toward the sky. “We’ll be staying here for now,” Julian
announced.

Annabelle’s shoulders slouched slightly
in relief as she nodded briskly. She turned to the vehicle,
throwing open the driver’s side door. “Come on,” she called into
it.

CHAPTER 3

Cassie waited impatiently for the
microwave to beep. Her frozen pizza turned slowly inside, the plate
bumped every once in awhile against the sides of the machine. Her
mouth watered as the scent of the bubbling cheese filled the air.
Turning away, before she drove herself crazy with hunger, Cassie
looked around the small room they had discovered behind the large
row of candy bars.