Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (23 page)

   Cassie gaped at him as Chris cursed fiercely.
Chris
turned on his heel, pacing the room restlessly as he tugged at his hair.
Melissa slumped a
gainst the wall, her head bowed
. Cassie was surprised by the single tear that slid down her face. Melissa didn
’
t cry
.
S
he was stoic, proud, a rock.
Dani stared at them with wide eyes, her mouth slightly parted as she glanced rapidly around the room.

   “I know you don
’
t want to, but I think that it
’
s a very good idea that you leave this town now. Luther tried to be discreet, but if they put two and two together, they
will
come for you.”

   Cassie’s eyes snapped back to Devon, her jaw dropped.
“You can’t be serious! They wouldn’t do such a thing!”

  
“Yes Cassie, I believe that they
would
,” Luther said softly.

   Her legs finally gave out. Cassie slumped to the floor, her muscles fel
t
like Jell-O. Hadn’t she already given up enough? Hadn’t she already suffered enough? What more could life take from her? What more could it throw at her?
Now she had to worry about her own kind coming after her, and there was a very distinct possibility that she could not join Devon without becoming a complete monstrosity.

   Devon was instantly in front of her, his strong hands envelop
ed
hers. His solid strength seeped
into her
, enveloping her with his comforting presence. “We
will
get through this,” he said forcefully, his beautiful emerald eyes blazing into hers. “We will get through this, we will get it all sorted out, and we
will
be together Cassie. No matter what it takes, we will be together. But first we need to think about your safety
,
all
of you need to g
o
somewhere
safe.”

   Cassie’s hand clenched tighter upon his. She tried to be reassured by his words, tried to believe in them but she couldn’t quench all of her doubts. How could she
,
when everything had already been so hard
for the two of them
?
She swallowed heavily
and
nodd
ed
firmly. She had to believe him; otherwise she would not be able to keep on going
,
to keep on fighting. There had to be a light at the end of th
is
dark tunnel, or she was going to succumb to the darkness inside her. She knew she would.

  
“
You’re right,
we will be,
” she said softly, managing a wan smile for him.
His hands tightened around hers, a small twinkle lit his eyes. He helped lift her to her feet, wrapping his arm around her waist as he pulled her close to him
, kissing the top of her head gently.
“But why would they come for a
ll of us, I thought
it was only me they wanted
?
”

   “It may be more than The Commission that comes here now Cassie.”

   “Excuse me?” Chris demanded sharply.

  
Cassie’s hand tightened in Devon’s shirt as she gazed up at him with wide eyes. “What do you mean?” she asked softly.

   Devon sighed
, his hand encircled
hers
. “Isla is dead Cassie; you are
the
Hunter
, and
only
one
,
that killed her.
That is a
feat that would have been thought impossible
,
before today.
Isla was a Grounder, she was nearly an Elder, and far stronger than
any
other vampire you have defeated.
When word of that spreads, others will come, others will want to take their chance at you. They will want the power that is in you. Julian will not fight alone, he knows that he cannot win, but he will not leave either. It is far too much of a challenge for him to quit now.
They will
not only come for you Cass, but
all of you, now that they know you are here.
”

   Chris exploded in a flurry of curses; Cassie merely gaped at Devon, her legs buckling once more. He held her up, his gaze burn
ed
into hers.
“You cannot stay.”

   Weird sputtering noises came from her; she could hardly catch her breath. A loud crash snapped her head around. Chris was staring bashfully at them, holding his dust covered hand tightly. Behind him there was a hole in the wall from where he had punched it. “Sorry,” he mu
mbled
.

   “That solved things,” Melissa muttered, shaking her head. “I’ll get you some ice.”

  
“Are you ok?” Dani asked softly as Melissa hurried from the room.

   Chris nodded;
color heat
ed
his face as he kept his gaze diverted.
Melissa returned to the room with a towel wrapped in ice.
Gently, she wrapped Chris’s hand in it, shaking her head at him. “Next time don’t blame it on the wall.”

   He gave her a small smile, nodding as he took the towel from her. “So what do we do?” Melissa inquired as she returned to her place by the mantle.

   “I’ve made some phone calls; I have a safe place for the five of you to go.”

  
“The five of us, what about you?”
Cassie demanded sharply.

   He shook his head
. “Someone needs to stay here. They will come here for you,
but
they
won’t
stay here long if you
’
re
gone
. But they will stay for a bit
,
and they will cause some damage
. Someone needs to be here to stop them.”

  
“Absolutely not!”
Cassie declared forcefully. “I will not leave you h
ere alone to fight against them.
You may be strong Devon, but you are not that strong!”

   “Cassie…”

   “No! No, I have lost so much. I cannot lose you too,
i
t w
ould
destroy me!” The very thought of it caused something to twist and turn inside her. She wanted to curl up into a ball at the same time that she wanted to destroy everything in sight. It was a feeling that she realized was very dangerous to her, to all of them now.
“
We are not leaving
Devon.”

   “
I
t will only be for a little bit, and it is best that you are not here right now. Not until you can get a better grip on what is going on inside of you.”

   “And
what
if it
takes over
when you’re not there!?” she demanded, t
rembling with fear and anger
, determined not to be forced from this town
.
They were needed her
e
to protect people, and she could not be separated
from Devon.
“I can’t come back
from it
if you’re not there to reach me! And what if you are killed!?” Her voice was nearly hysterical
now; full blown panic was beginning to set in.

   “Easy Cassie,” he said gently, his voice taking on a soothing tone that only set her teeth on edge more.

   “I am not a child!” she snapped.
“Don’t talk to me like I am.”

   He studied her for a moment, his eyes growing darker. “I know that,” he said softly. “But you have got to keep your emotions under control.”

   She scowled
up at him, trying to keep her anger, frustr
ation, and terror in check.
It aggravated her that he was right, but she refused to act like a child.
“You can’t stay here alone.”

   He nodded, pulling her close he dropped a hard kiss on her forehead, clinging to her for a long moment. “
I have figured
something out.”

   “Devon…”

   “Cassie your safety is the most important thing. All of your safety is.”

   “Where do you wan
t us to go?”
Chris demanded.

   Devon pulled slowly away from her, his hand wrap
ped
around the back of her head
as he
w
ound his fingers
gently through her hair a
nd
held her tight. “You would agree to leav
e
?” he asked softly.

   Chris stared hard at Cassie for a moment before nodding slowly. “If
T
he
Commission and vampires
come for Cassie, we can’t stop them
all
. We won’t be enough
.
T
he last thing that I want to do
is leave
, the people here…” he sh
ook his head; his gaze darted
briefly to the window. “We can’t leave them unprotected.
My mother.”

   “I’ll make sure they’re safe.”

  
“And what about
your
safety?”
Cassie demanded, unwilling to concede to his wishes yet, unwilling to leave him here while they were exiled.

  
“I’ll have help
,
”
he murmured.

  
“Who?”
Melissa inquired. “If we go,
who
will you have
to help you
?”

  
Devon stroked the back of her head, his eyes pleading
with her
for understanding. Cassie frowned at him, confusion swirl
ed
through her. “I called Annabelle and Liam.” Cassie’s eyes widened, her mouth parted slightly as her breath left her on a soft gasp.
“They’re on their way.”

   “What!?” she gasped
.

   “Who are Annabelle and Liam?” Melissa asked her delicate brow furrow
ing
in confusion as she glanced swiftly between the two of them.

   “Annabelle is a vampire that I created,” Devon said softly, his eyes locked on Cassie’s.

  
She could see the silent plea in his gaze to be ok with this, to understand. She couldn’t find the words to reassure him
though
, she didn’t know how to
. She didn’t know how she felt about it. He had once thought himself in love with Annabelle,
she
was the reason that he no long
er fed on humans. And though Cassie
knew that he was completely in love with her, and had never truly loved Annabelle she still couldn
’
t help
but
feel unsettled and confused.

   “And they’re coming here?” Dani asked quietly.

   “Yes. Liam will stay here with me, you will go with Annabelle.”

   Cassie gaped at him, her heart turn
ed
over
as
panic fill
ed
her.
“Devon…”

   “It’s for the best Cassie. They have a place farther up north where you can all stay until this has blown ove
r
.
Until we can figure out something better.”

   “And if I lose control again?” she whispered.

   “Annabelle is a healer; she may be able to pull you back.”

  
“That is a good possibilit
y,” Luther agreed
softly.

   Cassie wanted to protest, she wanted to cry
.
S
he wanted to absolutely refuse to leave his side. But she couldn’t find the words
,
and she knew that they would only fall upon deaf ears. “When are they coming?” Melissa asked softly.

   “T
hey were leaving Pennsylvania
at sunset;
hopefully
they
’
ll
be here by morning.”

   “My grandmother’s home, her things…”

   “I’ll make sure everything is taken care of Cassie, I promise. Nothing bad will happen to your home.”

  Cassie turned
away from him; her gaze darted
over the living room. This was the only home she had ever known
, all of her things were here. All of her
grandmother’s
things were here. She blinked back the tears burning her eyes, trying hard to keep them from spilling over. She would co
me back here, one day, she
would
come back.