Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (46 page)

   “Cedarville
school
,” Dani
answered
softly.

   “Where the
hell
is Cedarville?” Cassie inquired
sharply
.

  
“
Upstate
New York.”

   Cassie’s
eye
brow
s
furrowed as she glanced rapidly up and down the halls. “You put that monstrosity down there beneath a school?” she grated.

   Dani quirked a
n
eye
brow, anger flitt
ed
briefly over her features.
“
I
didn’t put it anywhere!” Dani retorted. “And I think we had better get free of here before we ha
ve this conversation, don’t you
?
”
   Cassie glared fiercel
y back at her, her hands fisted
as she fought the urge to punch Dani in her traitorous face. Julian grasped hold of her arm, shaking his head warningly at her. “Not here.”
   She glanced at him, her hands relaxing slightly as she nodded briefly.
Dani was watching them in wide ey
ed fascination, her gaze darted
wildly between the two of them as her mouth parted slightly. “
What
are you staring at
?” Julian
snarled, stepping protectively in front of Cassie
.

   Cass
ie reached out to touch his arm
seeking
to soothe some of the rage she sensed
building rapidly with
in him. Julian relaxed slightly,
as
some of the tension eas
ed
from him. Dani’s eyes widened upon her, doubt and horror crep
t
into her gaze. Cassie knew what Dani saw, knew that she thought Cassie was betraying Devon, but she couldn
’
t bring herself to care what Dani thought of her. She didn’t care about Dani at all.
Not anymore.
Cas
sie tilted her chin defiantly;
she
glar
ed
back at Dani
with
disgust and hatred.

  
Dani’s
mouth snapped shut as she shook her head. “Come on, we need to get out of here before they find us.”
   Cassie didn’t know if
Dani
meant the monsters that had held
t
he
m
captive, or
if there were other
creature
s like the one
that had tried to get into her room
running around
. Either way she didn’t care
,
she just wanted to be free
. She followed silently behind as Dani crept
cautiously
down the hall, past the lockers
,
and empty classrooms.
Julian was able to move on his own now, but he stayed close to
Cassie
,
his arm brushing lightly against hers as they moved
.
They turned a corner, hurrying past a silent gym before making their way into a small cafeteria.

   They were halfway through the tables when the hair on the back of Cassie’s neck stood on end and a shiver of terror wracked her. She froze, her gaze
scanned rapidly
over the darkened tables and benches.
Julian turned back as he stopped in front of her.
“Cassie!” Julian hissed.

   “There’s something here,” she whispered back
.

   He stepped closer to her, his eyes flashing briefly red as he scanned
the room
.
“Where?”

   She shook her head, turning helplessly back to him. She could
n’t
see
any threat
in the room, but she knew that it was there, stalking them.
She could feel it amongst the shadows, lurking, waiting to pounce upon them.
Dani was impatiently
waiting
for them a few feet away. Cassie shook her head slowly, trying to rid herself of the feeling but unable to shake it.

   And then
,
she knew.

   Ever so slowly
,
she tilted her head back
.
H
er heart hammer
ed
in trepidation, her mouth instantly
went
dry
. A gasp of shock escaped her
when
she spotted the thing amongst the beams
;
its red eyes gleam
ed
down at her as it watched
them in
hungry fascination.
Julian seized hold of her arm, shoving her out of the way as the thing launched itself f
rom the beams with an eager
growl
.

   Cassie’s hip slammed into the corner of a table,
the chairs skidded away from it as
pain exploded through her. Julian seized hold of the creature
’s throat
as it landed upon him. Flipping
the monster
over his head, he threw it
easily
away from him. It flew a good ten feet through the air before crashing into one of the tables
. It offered a soft grunt as it
bounc
ed
off of t
he table
before
disappearing into the darkness again
.
Julian turned toward
the creature
as it scurried into
the shadows
.
It
dart
ed
swiftly
through the benches and tables
with an inhuman agility that stole Cassie’s
breath
from her and left her shaken and horrified
.

   Dani
moved
closer to them, huddling by Cassie’s side as the
y
all followed
the creature’s
fervent movement through the dark.
A bench was knocked aside
,
and then it seemed to disappear
once more
. Julian took a step closer to her, blocking her with his larg
e frame. “Stay close!” he commanded
.

   A table to their
left skidded slightly backward
causing Cassie to jump in surprise. Dani
’s
shoulder brush
ed
against
her
side. Cassie fought the urge to push her away, but Dani was the only reason they had even made it this far.
No matter how cruel Dani had been to them, Cassie
could not bring herself to be so
vindictive
to the frightened girl.

   A shadow reared up out of the night
as it
launch
ed
itself at them. A scream caught in Cassie’s throat
as it snagged hold of Dani’s arm, a
n eager
hiss escap
ed
it. Dani screamed loudly, throwing her hands up in a
useless
attempt to dislodge
the creature
. Cassie grabbed hold of
Dani’s
arm, trying to pull her away as the thing clawed at her arm
, tearing her sweatshirt to shreds
.
S
trange noises escap
ed
from it
,
its
misshapen
teeth snapp
ed
as it tried to latch onto
Dani’s
neck.

   Julian lurched toward them, moving swiftly in a rushing blur, but Cassie was even quicker. Reacting on instinct alone, she drove her fist into the things cheek, snappin
g its head to the side. With the thing knocked momentarily off balance,
Cassie was able to rip Dani away, shoving her aside as she
lurched
at the thing.

   Cassie
relished in the anger that boiled swiftly forward, the powerful surge that came flowing with it. Leaping over the table, she caught hold of
the things
leg before it scurr
ied
into the darkness again. It howled in rage, rounding on her in anger and
bloodlust
. For a moment it seemed to hesitate, its eyes widen
ed
as it caught sight of her. Cassie paused, confusion swirling
through her. Devon had said that these things had no reasonable thought, no fear,
no survival instinct
but this thing seemed rational for a
brief
moment
of time.

   Then it was coming at her, moving with inhuman speed as it lashed out with vicious looking claws. Cassie dodged the blow, her nostrils flaring with anger at the attack. She jerked the
monstrosity
back, ripping it toward her by the ankle.
It howled
with rage,
clawing at the floor for purchase as it tried to get away from her.

   “Cassie!” Julian shouted.

   She felt him at her shoulder
milli
seconds before she lashed out, driving her fist into the things chest. Bone crunched beneath her
hand
, driving deeper in as flesh and bone gave out completely. The thing screamed in pain, its hand
s
shov
ed
fiercely at her
as it tried to dislodge her
.

   Julian jumped over top of
the creature
, clearing the
thing
in one single leap. Landing behind it, he seized hold of its head, ripping it to the side in
a
violent
, jerking
motion. The loud sound of bone shattering echoed through
out
the room. The thing squealed, staggering back, its head twisted disgustingly to the side on its broken neck.

   Julian’s eyes were bright red as they met hers, his nostrils flar
ed harshly
. “Turn away!” he snarled
at her
. Cassie blinked in surprise,
but she was unable to move. “Cassie
turn
around!” he commanded harshly.

   She started slightly,
seeming to come o
ut of a haze as she turned away, stumbling slightly
as she fought the desperate urge to flee this place and never look back
.
Lingering remnants
of a
drenaline
and revulsion
coursed through her
. For a moment, for one horrifying moment, she had truly enjoyed fighting the creature,
had truly enjoyed
destroying it. And now, well now for the first time since she had been placed in this awful place, she was finally feeling the
real
her bubbling beneath the surface again. And she was disgusted and terrified
by
it.

  
Dani grasped hold of her arms, pulling her forward as the thing began to squeal again. Cassie winced, hugging herself against the pain that she heard in those
inhuman
squeals
of pain and terror
. A sickening crunch and a squishing noise finally silenced the pathetic creature.

  
Cassie shuddered, Dani’s hands on her tightened. “Are you ok?”

   Cassie glanced up as Julian appeared at her side, his reddened eyes narrowed with worry as he surveyed the wounds marring Cassie and Dani’s arms.
Cassie gazed down at the scratches on her arms, hardly noticing the trickle of blood that seeped from them. She healed
fast;
the scratches would not remain
upon her skin
for long
. Jul
ian
pu
lled Cassie gently away from Dani
, his eyes narrowed
fiercely
upon Dani for a moment.
Tenderly
turning her arms, he
lightly
fingered the jagged
wounds
.

   “I’m fine,” she said softly.

   His eyes were still red upon hers, but there was a softening in his features as he studied her
intently
. “You’re in control?”

   She frowned at him. “Of
course I am,” she retorted.

   His hands cupped her face gently, lifting it toward him
,
he peered at her
intently. “Your eyes are
red.”