Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (4 page)

   Devon lifted a
n
eye
brow;
he
sh
oo
k his head as he silently closed the door behind him. Chris had made himself at home
.
T
here was
fast food wrapper
’
s on the coffee
table,
a couple
cans of soda, and the
TV
was on.
Though the furniture was all sleek, modern and expensive
,
none of it was his. The apartment had come fully furnished, a fact that was reflected in the high rent prices.

   Not like he cared, money was not an issue for
him. That was
one of the benefits of having lived
a long time
with little worries and little care for human life
. He tossed the spare key on the table beside the door
.
S
hrugging his coat off
,
he headed down the hallway to the master bedroom
. The
room was large with a massive California King jutting into the middle of it. The paintings on the walls were seascapes with boats and lighthouses, they
also
were not his. Tossing his coat on the bed, Devon pulled his shirt off as he made his way into the bathroom. It was large with a big Jacuzzi tub, his and hers sinks, and a separate shower stall. He had never used the tub.

   Turning the shower on, he set the temperature
for
as
hot as he could stand it before stepping inside. The stinging rays felt good on his sore back and stiff shoulders. A night in the car
had left him cramped and aching, but it
had been
worth it to make sure that Cassie
was safe. He stayed in the shower for as long as the hot water lasted. When it finally turned cold he stepped out, toweled off and dressed quickly.

   Chris was awake when he returned to the living room. Sitting on the edge of the sofa, his head was in his hands as he stared at the floor.
“Rough night?”

   He glanced up at Devon, his eyes slightly bloodshot. “
I’ve h
ad worse. Nice place you have here.”

   “Not my stuff. You could have slept in the guest room.”
   Chris shook his head. “Prefer the couch.
Everything ok?”

   “Yeah, she stayed put, didn’t get much sleep, but she’s there.”
   “Doesn’t look like you got much sleep
either.
”

   Devon shook his head, running his hand through his damp hair. “No.”

   Chris sighed, tossing aside his blanket as he rose slowly. “Thanks for letting me crash here
.”
  
“Anytime.”

   “
You going
to school today?”

  
Devon hesitated before nodding. He hated going to that place, it was boring, and the people were cruel and vindictive. But he wanted to see Cassie, and although he knew he was not
welcome around her, he felt that she would need him in order to get through
the day. “Yeah
,
I’ll be there.
”

   Chris
handed the key out to him but Devon
shook his head. “Keep it in case you need someplace to stay again.”
   Chris stared silently at him for a moment, surprise flickering through his eyes. Shrugging, he slipped the key back in his pocket. “You know, you’re not half bad for a dead guy.”

   Devon snorted, shaking his head at him. “Good to know.”

   Chris laughed softly
as he
grabb
ed
his letterman jacket off the back of the couch. “See you later.”

  
“Yeah.”

  
P
aus
ing
at the door,
Chris
glanc
ed
back at him. “You know, if I were you, I would use that little gift you have for attracting women.” Devon’s
eye
brows drew sharply together as he stared at Chris questioningly. “Jealousy can be a big motivator.”

   Devon’s eyes widened, shock slamm
ed
through him. “You can’t be serious.”

   Chris grin
ned
as he shrugged. “Something has to reach her, but don’t you ever tell her I suggested
it.”

   “Apparently we’re going to have many secrets.”

   Chris laughed as he nodded enthusiastically. “I don’t
want
her
to
kill me when she finally comes back to her senses. So yep, we are.”

   Devon couldn’t help but chuckl
e
along with him. Chris gave him a brief nod, his eyes still twinkling as he slipped out the door.
Devon clicked off the TV
,
h
eading back to
the
bedroom he plopped onto the luxurious mattress
he had spent few nights in
. Though he longed for sleep, he
knew that he would not be able to do so just yet. Sliding open the drawer of the nightstand he pulled out one of the books he had borrowed from Luther.

   Flipping through the old, worn pages, he
ignored its musty smell as he
skimmed
through the
detailed
histor
y
of The Hunters that had existed for the latter half of the sixteenth century. It was boring, tiring, and of little use as each of them had possessed an ability. He moved ont
o the next book in the line, flipp
ing swiftly through the pages
as he searched for and notes on a Hunter like Cassie, one that did not possess
an ability
. He was almost halfway through
it
when exhaustion claimed him.

***

   Cassie
moved stiffly through the hall. Her legs were like wooden blocks
;
her shoulders ach
ed
from being locked in place. Her hand drifted to the sunglasses perched on her nose. The large lenses helped to
block
out the harsh
fluorescent
light that filtered through the halls. It had
rarely
bothered her
before
but now it
constantly
burned her irises, nearly blinding her with its brilliance. She chalked
the strange effect
up to exhaustion.

   Everyone stopped to stare at her as she moved
past;
their whispered comments were not as loud as they had been before the death of her grandmother. Apparently
,
the loss of a family member
was enough to bring
her a reprieve from the cruelty of her classmates. She was not fooled into thinking
it
would last long.
She would probably become the center of attention again
,
once the gossip about the destruction
of
the school
bathroom
,
and hallway
during the homecoming
dance
became old news. They would
all
still
be buzzing about her
,
if they knew that she had been involved in that destruction
while
fight
ing
for her life against Julian.
 

   Stopping at her locker, she spun the dial quickly, her fingers going through the combo with little thought to the numbers. Melissa stopped
beside
her, leaning against the lockers as she waited for Cassie. She had a feeling that either Chris or Melissa was g
oing to be with her every second
of this miserable day.

   Her skinned crawled with aggravation; anger spurted through her as she thrust the locker door open. Grabbing her books she slammed the locker closed. She didn’t need a babysitter, and she sure as hell didn
’
t want one.
She t
ugg
ed
the hood of her
black sweater more firmly around her face. She didn’t want to see anyone, or be seen
either
.

   K
e
eping
her head bowed she slipped into homeroom, relief fill
ed
her when she realized that Devon was not there.
His car had not been in the parking lot either. Though she was glad that he was not here, that she wouldn
’
t have to deal with him on top of every
thing
else, she couldn’t help but wonder where he was, what he was doing
.

   Her hands fisted on her desk as the brief thought
of
who
he was with tore through her mind. He had claimed to love her, but he was a man after all, well sort of, and he had been dumped. She
knew
that he would find someone else soon enough. She tried to tell herself that the thought did not bother her, but it did. No matter how much she wanted to deny
that fact, she couldn
’
t.

   The morning announcements droned on, but she paid them little mind, she paid little mind to anything. Everything seemed surreal now. Everything was so out of place. Just last week she had been sitting at this same desk
with
dream
s
, hop
e
,
and
love
.
She had been
looking forward to
the
Homecoming
dance
simply for the chance to dance in Devon’s arms.

   Now, just a few short days later
,
she was sitting here with nothing. No hopes, no dreams, no love.
Her grandmother, t
he one person
that
had always been there for her, caring for her,
loving her,
was gone.
And she had taken everything
that Cassie was
with her.
Cassie was surprised that
her heart continued to beat in her chest considering how dead she felt inside, how empty and alone and so very lost
she was
. How did the world continue to spin? How was she supposed to go back to her life, when the hurt and anger inside of her was nearly consuming?

   Didn’t everyone else know that they were supposed to stop? Didn’t they know they were supposed to recognize her loss, and acknowledge it by being as miserable as she was?

   Her name being called snapped her attention to the front of the class. “Here,”
she mumbled, ignoring the stares she felt burning into her.

   Ducking her head once more, she played idly with her pencil, tapping it against the desk. She felt stuck, trapped in a life she didn
’
t want anymore. She had no idea why she was even here, what did school matter
when she didn’t
plan on living for much longer?
It had simply been habit that had forced her out of bed and here this morning.
Habit and the fact that she had nothing better to do with her day.

  
Julian and Isla would be hidden away, avoiding the daylight. She couldn’t hunt them when they weren
’
t around to hunt. And if she simply sat at home she would go absolutely insane. She needed to be doing something, and no matter how pointless school
w
as
now
,
it was far better than sitting on her ass doing nothing
all day
.

   A ripple in the classroom caused her to bow her head
f
urther. He may have been late, but
she knew immediately that
Devon had arrived. She could
sense
hi
m
as he made his way toward the only empty desk in the room, the one diagonally across from her. Cassie’s hands fisted
even tighter, her nails d
ug
painfully into her palm
.

   She could feel the energy rippling off of him, the power that he admitted in waves. The
waves
pulsed against her, causing her skin to heat and her heart to pick up. She hated the way that he made her feel, hated the fact that she always reacted to him, no matter how hard she tried not to.
It was just purely a physical thing, she told herself fiercely. She did not love him anymore; he was the reason that her
grandmother was dead. She
hated
him!